


That Southern Smile

by thebeastinsideusall



Series: Bucky Barnes Fics [3]
Category: Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Anger, Angry Bucky, Angst, Bad at tagging, Bucky being Bucky, Bucky gets a shield, Bucky hates himself, Bucky turns cold, Clint and Nat are horrible parental figures, Dangerous, Deadpool goes postal, Dog Tags, F/M, Hurt, Hydra will pay, Leo the horse is awesome, Loki - Freeform, Loki Needs a Hug, Loss of Innocence, Loss of a Baby, OFC - Freeform, Original Female Character - Freeform, Protective Bucky, Remy is awesome, Serum, Slow Burn, Vacation, Wade loves his baby sister, Ward goes a bit loopy, Xmen and Avengers work together, angsty a bit, bad things about the happen, bucky is hot af, bucky loves again, explanations of mutant powers, happy Bucky, horrible death of a child, how do you tag this crap, losing a baby is worse than hydra torture, lots of shit going on, love bucky, no clue how to tag this crap, not okay, overbearing clint, rumlow is cruel, sad bucky, safehouse, saving Asgard, signs of abuse, skye goes insane, sleipnir - Freeform, summertime, the avengers quit, ward and Bucky are bros, winter soldier - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-03
Updated: 2018-03-06
Packaged: 2018-05-24 12:02:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 46
Words: 119,705
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6153055
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thebeastinsideusall/pseuds/thebeastinsideusall
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Mia?! Mia!!" Bucky grabbed her up in his arms, metal hand pressing on her stomach but she had lost so much blood already. The dirt and snow around her nothing but a morbid pool of the life force pouring from her body. "Come on baby, talk to me please." </p><p>Her hands that had started to clutch onto his bloodied coat went slack. Losing their grip and the breath in her lungs finally gave out, leaving a soft huff of air to come and no more to fill them. Her eyes shutting as the strength she had left released it's hold on her and she went lax against Bucky's embrace.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

1

Shield was rebuilding. Slowly. But every day there were more new recruits. More order from the chaos. New headquarters to settle into and more relationships tested for lies.

Fury was gone. Not dead, but gone all the same. Vanished like the smoke of a midnight cigarette in the Windy City. He left a legacy and a shadow that couldn't be filled by just anyone. 

Coulson in charge now. Bringing Shield back from its knees after being shoved off the high pedestal it had reigned on for so many years. Running the team he trusted now without fail. Some were broken now, but they made it through. 

The Avengers left were worse for wear after the underground and public war between Shield and Hydra. So many lives lost and the bitter scent of betrayal pooled around every last Shield agents heart . Twisting around and covering hearts and souls alike with the sick feeling of it all.

Friends thought lost were recovered and began to heal from years of abuse, neglect, programming and conditioning. Bucky had waded through a shit storm of broken memories and blood covered hands. Yet he was coming back to himself after the long haul. They all were.

Captain America now had a disjointed view on the organization he had helped establish in the forties. Hydra had infiltrated before, what would stop them this time around? He clung to his friends. To Natasha and Clint, Sam and most importantly Bucky. He'd never let his best and oldest friend slip from his grasp ever again. 

Fury appeared out of the blue one morning. That's what he did, popping up in random places and giving snippets of data. What he asked of them was completely out of character for the mighty Nick Fury. Asking them the impossible.

He wanted them to go on a vacation. To leave whatever projects they were working on together or separately. He wanted them out of sight for awhile. Out of the public eye long enough for the last bits of hype to diminish so what's left of Shield could operate and rebuild in peace.

He didn't care where really. Just that they stay out of sight for a few months at most. Let Bucky finish recovering in a safe environment where shield projects couldn't interfere. 

Natasha and Clint had gone quiet after Fury left. Eyes locked on each other as an unspoken argument or discussion went on. No emotions conveyed through to any of the others but Natasha and Clint both knowing exactly what the other conveyed.

Bucky, Steve and Sam watched with a mix of raised brows and incredulous looks as the two spies simply nodded to each other. Natasha pulled out a phone from thin air and walked out into the hall, door closing behind her. 

"How do you guys feel about farms?" Clint asked, arms crossed and leaning one shoulder against the wall as he waited for Natasha's return.

Bucky and Steve shared a look of confusion at the strange question. But Steve had known Clint awhile now, and knew when something was working in his head.

"They're alright I guess, why?" Sam answered for the trio, he was new still but easily considered part of the inner circle. 

"Me and Nat, we have a... Friend... A safe house that's pretty secluded and hard to find even if your looking for it." Natasha walked in and nodded to Clint, a small smile on her face from her phone call.

"It's 110% safe, no way for anyone to find it ." Natasha gave another nod and head tilt to Clint that signaled something between them and he got his own phone out .

The trio of men across from the spies were confused. But if this was a safe house and no one would find them. Why the hell not? They were asked to take a vacation. So they would. Lord knows this group needed the free time to wind down from the last war.

"Hell with it, where are we going?" Bucky asked the spies as Clint was typing furiously into his phone with someone and Natasha had a gleam in her eye that only seemed to come out when they were fighting.

They only shared a look and smirked as they told the others to pack for the summer. Leaving the trio of men to shrug and do as Natasha had bid them. Trying to guess where they were headed but not caring because they truly needed the break.


	2. Chapter 2

2

"Kentucky?" Bucky asked again as he heard another groan in response from Clint in the cockpit of the quinjet. 

He had thought they would go south more, maybe close to the Texas Mexican border or even toward the mountains. But Kentucky? What was in Kentucky? Seriously? .....Kentucky????

"Just shut up Barnes," Clint snapped for the last time and gave them the ETA. Another two hours and there's be there. "Nat? You better tell them what's in store." Steve didn't miss the laughter in Clint's eyes as the man turned back toward the flurry of open sky in front of them.

"Tell us what birdbrain?" Bucky could sense the agitation from his friend and couldn't help but tease the smaller man a bit more. He was coming back to himself and could easily throw in banter instead of siting on the sidelines.

"There's a few things you should know before we get there is all." Natasha came out of nowhere, like usual and sat in the bench seats across from Steve and Bucky and next to Sam.

"Where we're headed is secluded and safe yes. But it's lived in." She clued reactions quickly, noting a bit of wariness from the winter soldier. 

"What do you mean by 'lived in' exactly?" Steve spoke up and crossed him thick arms over his chest, brow raised .

"It's a farm, it doesn't take care of itself." She acted like that explained it, but it didn't help anything. Interrogation extraordinaire as usual. "The person who owns and works there is very close to us." 

Now she had their rapt attention. To be close to the duo of spies was an act of gods will. It wasn't everyday that the black widow called anyone close to her. 

"Her names Mia and she's important to us. She knows about shield, about what we do and a bit about who you lot are. We don't keep her in the loop, too dangerous. But she knows enough." 

"She" Steve and Sam spoke in unison as they looked at Natasha wide eyed and slack jawed. So now they had a name and a sex, and where they were headed. But not much else.

"Yes 'she'," they could FEEL Clint roll his eyes from the pilot seat. As if it mattered if it was a girl or boy. But Bucky noted the slight clench of a jaw and the tenseness of muscles that tried to visibly relax. This could be someone very important to these two, and they were sharing it with them.

A soft buzz from Nat's phone had her pulling it out an quickly walking out of the cockpit and towards the hanger. Angrily texting before pulling the device to her ear and whispering out of earshot into the phone. With a sigh she ended the call and rubbed her temples with her fingers. Steve and Bucky sharing a shared thought that she looked like an exasperated mother. 

"Anything wrong?" Clint asked Nat, asking more than the few words he offered with his look and raised brow at her. They knew each other inside and out and everyone knew it.

"Not exactly, Mia likes to take in strays it seems. Remember that hacker that Coulson was raving about for the last year?" She was asking Clint but the rest of the team nodded in answer to the question.

"Well apparently it's not just someone Couslon found. Her names Skye and Mia best friend from , in her words, 'like forever girl!! were the bestest of friends since high school!'" Natasha shuddered at the words that had to come from her mouth. Teenage slang was atrocious. "Coulson's team hit a snag and apparently she's on the run from her messed up father."

"Well the girl is safe there too I guess. No one has found this place in decades. Guess we've got some company for the summer people." Clint just went with it, not even seeming to care that there was an added guest none of them knew about. Simply reusing Mia's judgement.

An added variable was something Bucky could deal with. Hell two he could deal with and maybe more. But maybe a psycho chasing after this girl made him on edge and he hated it. He was finally starting to get over this crap from his days as an asset.

So they were headed to a safe house in the back woods of Kentucky. To meet a girl that was apparently very close to the two top spies and a girl from director Coulson's team that was important enough for hydra to go after her.

Some vacation this is going to be.


	3. Chapter 3

3

The place the avengers were headed was indeed in the backwoods of Kentucky. A small farm, around fifty acres of rolling pastures and fences surrounded by woods and settled into a sort of valley. A large pond on the west side of the house had several floating docks scattered around the shores.

There was a two story farmhouse with an attic room, fairly new and built in the last ten years it seems. Winding porch all the way around and rocking chairs littered the slightly worn wooden planks. The paint was peeling in a few places, the gutters could use a good cleaning and the shutters were a bit loose. But it looked lived in and warm. It wasn't decrepit , it was someone's home.

With only one lone gravel road serving as the way in and out of the property. It saved on the threat of multiple vehicles coming from different directions. Only one car or van could come in after one another on the gravel. The woods too thick in most places for even an all terrain vehicle to make it through without getting stuck within a mile from the house. 

There were a few outbuildings scattered around the acres, most of them surrounding the house in a weathered red color with tin roofing. A single red barn situated in the middle of a large field.

Horses prance and ran freely in a small paddock outside what looked like a full stable. Manes and tails floating in the breeze as muscled bodies kick and play like colts. Corrals scattered closely around the stable, some empty some holding a single animal as they whinnied for attention.

Bucky, Steve and Sam all gazed out the windows of the quinjet in the pilot deck, watching the trees move beneath them as the air is pushed and pulled outside the plane. Their eyes roaming over the house and buildings from their vantage point up above. 

"Hey Nat? Where should I land?" It was a strange question, Clint and Natasha both could distinguish where a safe place to land the plane was. They never asked . 

"Mia says there's a landing pad on the south side of the garage." With that Clint nodded and turned the plane, descending smoothly on the flat piece of grass behind the building that had to have been the garage. It was a single leveled, tin sided thing that had four car port doors settled into the face of the building.

Without another word the group headed toward the hanger as the large door opened up. The wind blew in and assaulted them all with the scents of any other place like this. Fresh mown grass, grease and oil and metal from the garage, baled hay in the barns, the underlying scent of horses from a field away. 

Without the jets whirring engines the place seemed quiet and calm to them. It was different from the calm of an apartment building or the conference rooms in the tower. It easily and quickly settled over the group and Steve watched as Natasha and Clint breathed in deeply and visibly relaxed in seconds more than he'd seen them in the years he had known them.

"Let's head to the house, she's around here somewhere." Clint spoke up, not even bothering to unload the jet yet. The others followed suit as they walked around the garage, all the doors were closed so none of them could peer inside to see what was in there.

As they rounded the corner and faced the house, muffled shouting was heard and the tell tale sign of hooves on gravel was coming towards them. 

"I am telling you she's nuts!" A female voice was becoming clearer as the sound of hooves grew louder, still out of sight.

"You know you're just like her. Besides, I like a gutsy girl." Male voice, strong, deep. Bucky and Steve were running through battle scenarios without even thinking about it, second nature to them.

"Shut up, I heard the plane so they must be here by now. I'm excited to meet them! .. Race ya?" Before the male voice could answer there was a yell and suddenly a racing animal was rounding the corner on the stable and running at full speed on the road toward the house. 

All they could see was a mass of black and chesnut followed a half second by a mass of brown and tan melded together. They stayed where they were as the animals were slowed with the pull of reins and a soothing voice as a dark haired, brown eyed girl stares down from the back of the beast.

"Hi! I'm Skye." The girl introduced herself and smiled brightly, a bit nervous but still friendly at the strangers in front of her. Course she knew who a couple were. She was smiling and looked out of breath. 

"You're the hacker?" Clint asked the dark haired girl who nodded happily at the term. She was of Asian decent maybe, slim and petite and long soft hair that flowed in waves down her back. "Who's this? We weren't kept in the loop it seems..." There was only supposed to be her here not a guy too.

He shifted slightly, left hand reaching back to rub at the back on his neck. "I'm ex special agent Grant Ward..." He locked eyes with them all but kept them on Steve for a moment, regret clouding his eyes as he tensed up under the scrutiny of the Captain's gaze. 

"Ex?" Steve asked for the group, hand landing softly in Bucky's left arm as the other clenched his fist and reached for the gun hidden in his dark jeans.

"I put someone before my team and paid for it heavily," they all knew what that meant. But chose not to dwell on it. At least he wasn't a sleeper agent for Hydra. No one missed the way his hand wet out to grip Skye's for a moment in a tight squeeze.

"Where's Little Bit at?" Clint asked, hands on hips as he watched the two on the horses closely. They shared a look and Skye opened her mouth to answer before the soft echo of another set of heavy hooves was heard coming from the direction of the landed plane.


	4. Chapter 4

4

Bucky and Steve were both a bit on edge. Another player pushed into the mix and they were both ready to board the plane again and just go back. But the relaxed poses of Natasha and Clint had them rethinking it. If these two were calm even now after meeting Skye and Ward. Then maybe they were okay.

The hooves stopped, they couldn't see the animal but they heard a clicking sound and the hooves were off again. A small whinny escaping the animal as it rounded the corner of the garage at a dead run. Long muscled legs grabbing for purchase on the grass as it turned and spun toward the house. It was massive, and the others own horses were now prancing in place as the newcomer came closer.

All to suddenly the horse was standing nearly toe to toe with Clint but the man simply cocked his head up to the side and petted the animal as if huffed heavily from big nostrils on its muzzle. The dust was settling around them and the figure on the back of the black horse obscured slightly from the heavy long mane of black hair and thick neck.

"Showing off a bit are we?" Natasha spoke up to the figure as Bucky's eyes were drawn from the animal to its rider. His jaw want slack a bit.

The bluest eyes he's ever seen stared down at the black massive animal underneath her, full of excitement and life. Thick, long waves and curls of the richest chesnut blonde hair he'd ever seen in his life trailed from a worn purple ball cap. Small soft hands patted and stroked mane and neck covered in sweat. Tight, jean clad thighs clung to the animals bare back and shoulders, forgoing the normal saddle and riding bareback. Open sides of a blue plaid shirt billowing slightly in the breeze over a skin tight blue tank top that left nothing to the imagination over a full chest barely contained in the clothes as the horse side stepped and caused her to jostle slightly. Bucky was stunned by her, not even a little bit.

"You owe me twenty bucks," Natasha poked at Clint who shook himself out of his daze as he had been looking over the massive animal in front of him. Grumbling about wild things only able to tame wild animals.

"Ya'll bet that I'd make a big entrance didn't you?" Sweet mother of Mary, her voice was soft and had a Souter twang to it that any self proclaimed southern belle could only dream of having. "Least I'm not wearing a suit or anything."

"True enough. We'll talk later," Natasha gave the blonde a pointed look before turning to the others who were standing around, making sure she knew that Natasha meant it.

"Guys? This is .. "A small nod from Clint had Natasha taking a deep breath before continuing, "This is our cousin, Mia." wait... Cousin? Our? That would mean... Holy crap. 

"Wait you two aren't like, together?" Sam asked with raised eyebrows of surprise as the two spies started to laugh heavily. 

"Ew no! We're best friends, thicker than any blood could show. Were like, cousins of cousins twice removed or some weird shit like that." Clint laughed softly and held his side as he tried to get himself under control.

"That explains a lot.." Steve rubbed his chin with his hand, smiling a bit and changing his eyes to look up at the girl in the horse in front of them, the beast pawing at the ground as if it wanted to run again. He had to admit, she looked a bit like Clint.

"It's nice to meet you Mia, I'm.."

"Steve Rogers, aka Captain America. Sam Wilson, aka the Falcon. and ... Sergeant James Barnes, the Winter Soldier." She pointed to each of them with one hand while the other steadied her horse as he pranced. Her eyes traveled over each of the new men before they settled on Bucky, he subconsciously stood straighter under her gaze. He knew the rumors and stories about him floating around shield and in public, none were nice. 

"Nice to meet ya'll." her voice sounded over Bucky like silk, of the soft waves of grass blowing in the breeze. She didn't look at him with disgust or fear, just looked him over again and smiled in that southern way that brightened up the entire day.

She held out her free hand to shake and Steve took it first , shaking it lightly, careful of his strength. Not wanting to squeeze too hard accidenlty and hurt her, her hands were small and looked delicate compared to everyones.

She raised an eyebrow and her forearm tensed up as she squeezed Steve's hand back. Surprise ran over his face before he chuckled softly and withdrew his hand from hers. She took Sams next and he received the same treatment as Steve did. Keeping his strength in check for the small hand in his but she clenched so hard this time the Sam's knuckles popped softly. 

Next was Bucky, he didn't do what the others had, still careful of his own strength but he gave as much as she did and the grin on her lips made it worth it. She had been silently testing them all with that handshake. Wanting to see something, Bucky didn't know what yet but he'd like to find out.

"Skye? You think you can handle Leonidas back to the barn??" The brunette instantly shook her head, dark hair flipping slightly from her shoulders. A look of almost fear in her eyes as she looked at the massive animal.

"Oh all right, ya scaredy cat. Y'all make yourself at home and I'll be back in just a minute." With that she spun the beast in its heels and gave a loud laugh as the horse took off down the gravel toward the barn again, spilling dust and gravel in its wake.

"That horse is a demon in telling you..." Skye nodded to everyone before she took the reins from Ward's horse and went after Mia toward the barn. Leaving Ward to stand at the porch steps looking at the group in front of him. 

"You, me, talk, now." Natasha pointed at Ward and he nodded at her, going into the house as the screen door slammed shut behind him.

Clint motioned for the rest of them to follow him inside. Natasha and Ward were already out of sight and hidden somewhere in the house as the others filed into the farmhouse.


	5. Chapter 5

5

The house looked much larger in the inside than the outside. Hardwood floors were worn from years of use but we're clean and lightly polished. The walls all around the bottom floor looked cream colored with dark chocolate colored borders and molding .

Soft blues and reds and yellows were everywhere. It looked that the enter living space was in the same sort of color scheme. Couches matching the throw blankets and pillows , drapes and curtains paired together. The open kitchen and dining room done up in the same colors but brighter and more vibrant shades. 

Taxidermy racks and antlers were scattered along the walls of the living room. Looking closer Steve could read dates and years along with which species was now resting on the wall. Most of them done with bows it seems. A large wolf pelt hanging proudly above the fireplace was dominating the space with its only blackness.

Clint made himself at home in the kitchen as if he'd been there many times before. Muttering about not finding the pickle jar and instead grabbing a bottle of water from the door. Jumping up to sit in the counter he watched the others explore a bit. 

The soft laughter of two female voices came from the porch and Mia and opened the screen door for Skye who walked in and her eyes immediately searched around the room. Not finding what she was looking for her face fell slightly but she kept smiling at Mia and went into the living room. 

"Did Nat go to interrogate Ward?" Her voice caused Bucky to turn in her direction again, thankful she wasn't watching him as he openly looked her over again. 

She stood with hands on hips, left hip slightly jutted out as she sighed with a smile and shook her head at the smirk Clint was giving her. Her hair shook slightly with the shake of her head and Bucky realized how long it really was, reaching clear down to her waist in perfect soft waves and curls. She reminded him of his ma, even Steve's ma, the way she just shook it off and kept smiling like that.

"You know her. But it's been forever Little Bit!" Clint jumped down and Mia practically threw herself into Clint's arms for a tight hug that showed just how much they meant to each other. His arms wrapped around her torso and fingertips almost touching his own ribs with how thight he held her. She was small even compared to Clint's frame as they hugged.

"When are you gonna stop callin me that?" She rolled her impossibly blue eyes and laughed, lightly smacking Clint's arm as she turned to everyone else. 

"When you grow a few more inches Squirt." He answered and ducked for the punch that came at him playfully.

"Well nice to meet everyone again, you've already met my best friend Skye, she's wicked smart with computers."

"Hacker Mia! Hacker! And I'm a genius!" They both laughed at each other before she continued.

"Most of the bedrooms are upstairs and I put sticky notes on the doors for everybody. There's three full showers to share and one down here in the mud room." Mud room? What the heck was a mud room? All three of them shared a look of confusion which had Clint chuckling softly

"She means the room off to your left , muddy shoes and what not, you know? Mud room?"  
Ooooooo.

"Anyways, you all can get your stuff and settle in and since its kinda early I can show you around some?" Her voice sounded a bit strained that time, less of the accent that came so naturally for her, as if she was trying hard not to let that accent show through. Wonder why? 

She rubbed a hand over the back of her neck and threaded fingers through her slightly tangled hair. "Look I know who you guys are, I know that you can't stay at a place without knowin the ends and outs exactly. I've lived with soldiers and spies before." 

Clint lightly gripped her upper arm, giving a soft smile before nodding. Signaling that what she had said was alright and to calm down. She was visibly nervous but was hiding it pretty well.

"Thank you for the offer Mia, we'd like that and thank you for having us." Ever the gentlemen Steve saved them all from any sort of awkward silence and she seemed thankful. 

"You're very welcome sweety! Now you guys get settled and I'm going to save Ward from an interrogation no amount of training will ever prepare him for." She gave a wink to a fidgeting Skye who smiled thankfully and walked out of sight.

"I'm gonna warn you guys right now, under all that sugary sweetness is a force to be reckoned with." Clint spoke up as they headed out to the plane for their bags. "She's pure southern fire with a temper shorter then an inchworm. Don't get on her bad side or you might be sleeping out in the barn." 

Clint looked every bit as serious as he could be as they loaded up their bags on shoulders and locked up te plane. "She's been through some things that have made her .." He sighed a bit and shook his head. " ...There's a reason she's here and not in Shield protection."

He didn't say anything more and the others didn't say much either.


	6. Chapter 6

6

Upstairs they found every one had their own room . Colorful sticky notes on each door to show who's room was whose and the men started chuckling softly. Each sticky note was of a bright neon color, shaped in the normal square shape. But everyone's was different. 

Steve had a detailed shield doodled on his with his name. Sam's had a set of what looked like metal wings. Clint's obviously had a bow and arrow. Natasha's had some kind of spiders crawling all over her name. Bucky's was free of a doodle, but his name was very detailed. Each letter of writing was shaded to look like his full name morphed into an assault rifle in surprising detail. 

"Ya'll ready for some fun?" Mia shouted up from the bottom of the stairs and heard a chorus of yes's from upstairs. Bucky shoved the sticky note in his bag before he threw them both into his assigned room and moved downstairs.

Natasha had returned and was trying to braid Mia's long hair while the blonde was fidgeting an trying to smack away the assassins hands, giving up with a huff she held still while Skye giggled not so secretly at the blonde. 

How could Natasha and Clint seem so relaxed here? Steve gave Bucky a shrug as if asking the same thing and quirk of a brow. Ward had made a reappearance, looking the tiniest bit rattled but he hid it well. His arms wrapped around Skye's waist as they laughed at Mia's misfortune.

"There." Nat tied off the heavy braid of the blonde hair and the girl quickly got up to give her cousin a heavy look of feigned anger. The spy only laughed and rolled her eyes.

"Ward's free and clear." That's all they needed and suddenly it felt like a weight was lifted off of their shoulders. They had been wary of the male agent but if Natasha gave him the clear they could trust him enough.

"Enough with all that crap, are we gonna go ride or what?" Mia flipped the braid off her shoulder and stalked to the couch. Grabbing a neon blue and purple full faced bike helmet. 

"Yes!" Skye cheered and grabbed a light green one just like Mia's before running outside with Ward on her heels.

"I trust you all can ride a dirtbike? Four wheeler?" Seeing the looks she was getting she laughed and rolled her eyes again, it seemed quite the habit in any situation for her.

"They're all out in the shed." With that she was out the door before anyone could say anything and Nat and Clint soon followed on quick feet.

Outside Skye and Ward were seated on a mud covered four wheeler with Ward on the back holding onto the handle bars already. Mia just walking out another bike to join the three on the gravel in front of the house. Every single one covered in dirt or mud, no part of them really clean and had seen their fair share of use it seemed.

"Here let us help," Sam an Steve offered as they followed her smiling face to a shed at the side of the house where multiple bikes and wheelers were kept. Each taking a bike ad rolling them out toward the others. Bucky hanging back. 

"Thanks sweety." Mia smiled and walked over to the purple bike by Skye and Ward. Inwardly Bucky smiled , this girl liked the color obviously and showed it clearly. She pulled on her helmet while everyone picked a bike and looked over the controls. 

"Race ya to the south field Hawky?" Her bike roared to life and there she went, in a shower of gravel and dirt as she reached up to slap down the face plate of her helmet.

Without command everyone was on a chase after each other as they swerved in and out of each other's way over the gravel and off into a field where the gate was wide open. 

Clint was catching up with her but with a look behind her she revved up into a wheely and kept going before her bike touched back down and she hit the gas again. Leaving Clint in the cloud of dust she left.

Steve nudged Bucky over a bit with his own bike and raised an eyebrow. A simple asking if he wanted to race and Bucky was gone, hitting the throttle just right so he sped up quickly and bypassed the four wheeler and Sam with Steve hot on his heels.

Bucky was finding himself easily having fun at the moment. He hadn't done anything like this before. It felt strange but exhilarating and he was beginning to really like it. He smiled through the tangle of his longish hair and popped a wheely on a whim and Sam gave him a thumbs up as he and Steve caught up.

All too suddenly their race had to stop, Clint and Mia had met ,no one saw who won, and she had her plate up as she talked animatedly to Clint. Legs straddling the bike to hold it upright as she pointed at to something they couldn't see over the ridge.

"Glad to see I won't have to teach anyone else how to ride." She smiled teasingly at all of them and it was contagious. Sam, Steve and Bucky all grinning back at her as she gave Skye a look that said the blonde had tried and failed to teach the brunette. 

She knew full well they could drive anything but maybe a plane, training required that. But she liked to tease and it seemed that they weren't complaining. Mia was sweet and tough it seemed and liked to be outside and to have fun like any country girl would. It was refreshing from all the suits and tactical people around them for so long. Business and no fun.

Bucky looked her over again. The slight flush of excitement on her cheeks from the short ride, the way her hands had to stay busy. She couldn't be still for long it seemed. Her boots were scuffed and faded but looked comfy. Her eyes shone with something he hadn't seen in a long ass time. Carefree.


	7. Chapter 7

7

"Skye can sit this out, because someone can't keep up with me, but I know ya'll are looking for some fun. Too long in that city of yours!" she started her bike again and set one foot onto the metal peg for her foot as the other held it up. "Let's go!" With that she slammed her plate back down and pulled the throttle open. Her back tires spinning as she seemed to go right over the ledge of the ridge they were all grouped on. 

The next second she was further away and air born, bike and all as she dropped back down from a jump. Steve and Bucky moved closer to see a homemade dirt course settled into the little valley. Ramps and jumps made from formed piles of dirt and hours of tires packing it down. 

She went for another jump, swinging her weight back and to the sde causing the bike to turn slightly before she righted herself and landed again. The girl had guts.

"And that's why we make her wear the helmet! Girl doesn't know when to quit!" Ward shouted over the roar of the engines as Clint and Bucky and Sam went after the other bikes. All of them steering around each other and trying out the course as she kept doing her own tricks and flips.

Steve stood back, honestly surprised Bucky had just dove in without waiting a bit. But happy his friend was letting loose some, he had been through enough and staying cooped up in New York was hard on the Brooklyn native who loved to go out and explore. 

"She's a wild card." Natasha smiled wistfully down as Mia stopped her bike and revved up for a big jump, taking off and going airborn, high enough to spin her bike completely in a circle before dropping back to the ground a bit unsteadily. 

"She's definitely related to you both." Steve half asked half assumed, since Clint had openly admitted it. It must be true. The way her eyes lit up with excitement, the little ways she moved to keep herself steady when she started losing balance. It was all eerily similar to the two spies.

"Only I have left, besides Clint. It's thin, but the blood is there. We were friends before we ever knew about that little tidbit. Didn't matter though, were too close by then." She leaned over the handle bars of her blue bike and watched them all. "She grew up partly with Clint until shield recruited him."

"Is that when?" Steve asked aoftly.

"Yeah, we found this place up for grabs and knew she would need a safe place when she was of legal age. Clint didn't want her to join up. She's too kindhearted for this life Steve. As far as the world knows? She doesn't exist." With that Natasha revved her bike up and jumped down into the valley to scare Sam into slamming the brakes and nearly knock Sam off his own bike.

Steve watched them all instead of joining in. Amazing at how easily Bucky was opening up and challenging Sam to a jump race where Mia aptly defended she would win against all of them. She was a ball of fire and life and laughter rolled in sugar and accents. Steve liked the little spitfire.

He had forgotten Skye and Ward were watching as well. Standing a few yards away from him . Steve watched them from the corner of his eye. Ward would move with Skye, not smothering her but making sure the girl knew he was there with her. A bit possessive but she was very pretty and Steve could understand. Ward was ex agent, in their line of work if you had something precious , you protect it with everything you've got and then more. You give your life for the few you hold close. 

Skye watched , happy to stay on the sidelines it seemed, not even thinking about daring such feats on her own. She leaned back into Ward some and his wrapped his arms around her tighter. Giving them the privacy Steve turned his full attention toward the running bikes, just in time to see a purple bike flip and knock it's rider into the dirt. The machine flipping end over end , several pieces breaking off of it as it landed on the packed dirt.

Bucky was stepping off his bike in seconds and meeting Clint and Natasha over the slumped heavily breathing form on the ground. Hands waved them away and she stretched out , checking for token limbs and giving a thumbs up before flipping plate on her helmet to smile at everyone checking on her. 

"I'm fine in fine! Lost control and stepped off before I really did some damage." She righted hersel and waved off Bucky's offered hand as she pulled herself up and dusted off her dirt covered pants while laughing softly. "I bounce back guys,I'm not exactly fragile." Smiling at Bucky and Steve alike, "but thank you sweeties." she smirked proudly and walked back to her over turned bike, only slightly limping and Steve could see the prideful looks on Clint and Natasha. They matched the exasperated looks of Skye and Ward as the couple went down the small trail to go check on her anyways.

"Dammit... Whatever I did it fucked it up .... Well shit." Sam couldn't help the small snort at the way she said that. The last part of shit coming out like sheet. She kicked the dust covered ground in her cuffed boots and crouched at the side of her bike where fuel was leaking out of it slowly. 

"Throw it on the back and we'll take it back to the garage for you." Ward offered and opened a small compartment on the back of the four wheeler that held straps and ties. Ward and Skye helped her tie down the bike to the four wheeler and he and Skye were off to the house .

"Well looks like you need a ride Squirt." Clint laughed before taking off down the path and out of the valley and leavin them all behind.

Mia laughed and shook her head glancing around , her eyes landing on Bucky's backside for a moment, she waved over Natasha and climbed on the back of her bike. Closing her helmet she have the signal for them all to head out. The fun filled mood dampened a bit by the newcomers worry over the blonde.

The sun was setting some in the late afternoon light. Making the sky full of raging reds and oranges as the sun started its decent into the west. Steve and Bucky shared a smile as they loaded the bikes back into the small shed and dusted themselves off from the dirt they had rolled in. It was a start. They all had fun today in the short amount f time they had arrived, an Steve could see Bucky actually smiling this time around. 

Clint and Natasha's cousin was a wild handful of fun that made them all laugh and her friends seemed like good people. Already Steve could feel the heavy weight of the fall of SHEILD start to ease slightly on his shoulders and he felt a better then he had since the day he found Bucky in an old factory outside of New York.


	8. Chapter 8

8

With a huff Mia was rolling her damaged bike into the garage that the ,now cloaked, quinjet was parked beside. Flipping a button ,on a set of keys she produced from nowhere, so that the far right port opened up to let her in. Nat and Clint hovered off to the side as if waiting for something as Mia kicked out the stand and went to flick on the lights. 

The garage was suddenly lot by bright lights, filling every shadow with its counterpart and showing the things scattered around the building. Three bulky shapes, two smaller. Both under heavy beige tarps and against the far wall. A work bench lining the entire back wall and absolutely covered with ever took a mechanic could ever dream of.

Sam, being the first to notice what was in fact in the rest of the garage, not covered by a trap, slapped a hand over his mouth and grabbed Steves shoulder to steady him as the dark skinned man let out a string of curses at what he saw before them.

Mia smirked proudly but tried to hide it behind nonchalance as she raised and eyebrow at Sams excitement. Her hair missed and frizzed a bit around her face from the helmet. 

"What?" Was all she said as she walked away from her bike to weave through a few engines in the middle of reassembling and over to the workbench along the back wall. Smack in front of a glossy plum color of a muscle car sat behind her. Gleaming in the bright lights and looking every bit as mean and sleek as some people dreamed it could be.

"Is that what I think it is? Please for the love of god tell me it is..." Sam walked over, close enough to touch but not daring to mark up the spotless shine on the car.

"You mean is this a fully restored 1967 Dodge Dart? With original paint? American made muscle?" Her eyebrows raised as if Sam was asking the simplest question in the world and he should have known the answer. A tool in her hand as her hip leaned into the workbench.

Sam was nearly drooling now, his mouth gaping and closing like a fish out of water and she laughed softy. Bucky and Steve watched curiously as Sam became a flustered mess over a vehicle. What was so special about it?

Mia walked over and opened the drivers door gesturing that it was okay for Sam to sit inside and he actually ran up and hugged her out of nowhere. Spinning her around once before dropping her before carefully sliding into the front seat and making a sound of content as his hands ran over the steering wheel gently.

"What's so special about a car?" Bucky spoke up, walking over to peer in from the closed passenger door and glance over the shining leather of the seats and old dash and controls. He couldn't quite understand.

"What's so special is that's a piece of American history boys. Just as much as you both are." Mia smirked as Bucky stood up and raised an eyebrow at her. "This car is one of the classics, soldier."

"You said rebuilt. Did you..?" Sam asked as Clint spoke up and clapped a hand on her shoulder fondly. 

"She took apart my dad's truck when she was ten, rebuilt the entire engine in three days tops and it still runs to this day. Girls a gear head." Mia blushed a bit under Clint's praise and pulled her ball cap over her face to hide her embarrassment. 

Steve and Bucky were shocked still. A ten year old tearing apart and rebuilding an engine without any training? That's talent. But Sam was able to speak up for all of them.

"You , little lady, are full of surprises." Sam gently climbed out of the car, brushing off invisible dust from the seat and closed the door behind him. His eyes gazing over the car fondly. 

"It's nothin'" she waved off the praise again and picked up a set of wrenches back over to her bike, crouching down to take the fuel tank off of it.

Clint rolled his eyes at her and flicked her ear as she grumbles at mean cousins and worked on her bike for a few minutes. Bucky and Steve watched as she blushed and tried to hide it under her faded ball cap and loose locks of hair. Both realizing she didn't seem take compliments too well.

Sam kept drooling over the dark purple monstrosity of a car behind them . Skye had appeared out of nowhere with minimal noise, making Steve suspect she had had some sort of agent training before as she came over. 

"I'm about to start dinner, any preferences??" Mostly she looked at Steve and Bucky, Sam was too preoccupied to care and Nat had vanished from sight again while Clint helped Mia detach the side panels of her bike.

"Anything is fine with us Skye, we're not too picky." Steve said politely and Skye returned his warm smile. 

"We are NOT havin Mexican food again, I'm gonna have heartburn for a week if we do. How about we grill out?" Mia asked out to the guys surroundeding her and got a mix of nods and yes's. "Hope you guys like deer." 

Skye smiled and went back toward the house and Mia motioned for everybody out as she set down the busted fuel tank by the bike and went to shut off the lights in the garage. Bucky and Steve both having to duck as the large door started to descend.

"Deer huh? You've been hunting gain?" Clint asked her as she took her hat off for a moment to ruffle her tangled hair , a few more locks pulling from the heavy braid at her back. "I thought you would have stopped."

"I can't stop doing things I love just because one bad thing happened Clint..." She slipped her hat back on and shrugged at the raised brows from Sam and Steve at her comment.

"You have to be careful, there are predators out in the woods." Nat appeared out of nowhere on the porch steps, speaking to the blonde as the group made their way to the house.

"Yeah but dealing with the predators out in the woods is easier than going into town and dealing with people."

She looked up at Natasha and just shrugged at the spy and continued into the house before Nat blocked the way. Eyebrows raised and arms crossed in that motherly sort of way that Steve had seen her use on himself just a few sparing times in the years he'd known her .

"You know I'm not talking about that night in the woods so drop it. But when SHEILD fell? No calls? No coded emails? No texts? No fucking carrier pigeons? I got nothing. I thought yall were dead. I protected myself. You taught me to survive and I did."

Mia shrugged again and pushed past Natasha, and she let her. Eyes a bit wide and staring at Clint who had the same expression on his face. Steve Bucky and Sam had witnessed the entire exchange from a front row seat. How Mia's eyes had fluttered with fear and her arms coming to wrap around her torso a bit as if she could curl up while explaining it. But then she steeled herself, shook off the fear creeping up in her and her eyes had turned an icy shade of blue.

She had kept to herself for who knows how long now. For as long as he had been alone until just recently when Skye an Ward must have joined her. She had been here, on this huge place, by herself. Hunted and provided for herself until she knew it had been safe from the fall of SHEILD and the rise and subsequent fall of hydra.

Like any good soldier would do if they were stranded without provisions in enemy territory. Get supplies, stay hidden, don't engage untill help arrives. Steve and Bucky shared a look of curiosity and awe as the blonde had squared her shoulders and walked back inside like she hadn't just professed she was scared to death for so long but still smiled every morning.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cute blushy Bucky!!

9

Skye and Mia were shuffling around each other in the kitchen, Ward sitting at the table sipping on a frosted, long neck beer. The ex agent looked up at the group filing in and smiled, waving them over with the promise of their own bottle.

Skye smacked Ward on the side of the head playfully. "Maybe not everyone likes to drink at every meal?" 

"Oh leave him be Skye, he's a man. Let the man drink, if he wakes up hungover it's no ones fault but his own." Mia snarked teasingly and looked up from the sink where large bags of meat were defrosting under hot water. 

Those blue eyes met Bucky's for a moment and he felt his heart beat quicken at the smile on her lips before she turned away to focus on her task. Steve have him a furrowed brow look at his sudden misstep , the soft sound of a boot hitting a chair leg barely audible .

"Need any help?" Sam asked as he peered over into the sink, clearly unable to tell the meat pieces apart while still frozen.

"Actually yeah, can someone set the table while I go start the grill?" Mia she didn't wait for a response as she headed out from the screen door on the other side of the fridge out onto what looked like the porch.

Skye pointed to a full cupboard to Sam as Bucky steeped out the door to follow Mia wondering if he could help but mostly so he could be near her again. Her presence was calming to him and her smile was additive.

He wondered briefly how one who seemed so bright and cheerful an strong be scared of anything. Then he remembered his time with hydra, his right arm reflexively wanting to run over his left but he kept it still. Anything could make someone afraid of anything, it was possible. Her wanting to stay hidden through all of that was smart.

She seemed fine though. He didn't know what had happened that she wouldn't talk about. Or what she had to do untill she heard from Clint or Natasha after the fall of shield. But she seemed fine, smiling even. But he knew there were things one could bury and never look at again. She was hiding something though. He could feel it.

Soft sounds brought him out of his mind as he shook the thoughts away as he focused on what was being said to him. Only catching the last few words. 

"..hunted before?" Mia asked softly, smiling when he gave her a look. She had seen his glazed over eyes and figured he must have zoned it for a minute. "I said have you ever hunted wild game before?" 

Had he? He'd never held a gun before in his life untill he joined the army. Never hunted anything but man now that he thought about it. She obviously knew what they all did but she didn't need to hear that in those words.

"Can't say that I have doll," he smiled a bit for her, and her whole face just brightened up at it. 

"Well maybe I'll take you with me next time, soldier like you can move without a sound I bet! There's a big buck just in the east woods thats been evading me for months now." Her face turned determined as she turned back to check on the warming grill. 

She was right, big and heavy as he was he could move as silent as death and hide in practically any setting. He was good at what he was trained for. 

"You've never lived outside of a crowded place have you Barnes?" She asked softly, leaning against the railing by the grill, the soft breeze fluttering her loose locks under her ball cap.

"No, not that I would remember...and truthfully? I've always loved Brooklyn, it's home to me, but out here it's so..." He didn't really know what words he was trying to say. It felt free, open, safe.

"I lived near Nashville for a long while and then Nor'leans for a bit after that, the sights and sounds of a bustling city were great for awhile. Full of life an music but... It became too loud, too busy...." Her speech traile off as Skye brought out the plate of thick steaks and then headed back in.

"Out here it's open. Im free to do what it want, how I want. No prying eyes to judge my clothes or my hair or how I talk, or live." Bucky listened intently as she spoke, her accent coming out a bit thicker the longer she talked. 

"I know it's not what you're used to Barnes but I hope it helps you guys relax before you go and save the world again." She smiled sweet and soft, eyes sparkling in the afternoon light as she turned to check the food grilling. 

They stood in comfortable silence for a few minutes as the mouth watering scent of cooking meat wafted from the grill and Into the open windows and door, making the poeple inside cheer out for times when it would be done. 

"Bucky," Mia startled and looked over her shoulder, locks of dark gold hair flipping over her neck to her back with the quick movement.

"Hmmm?"

"You can all me Bucky, Barnes is too formal." He couldn't imagine that her smile could grow any brighter, he was wrong. "or James if you like."

"Well as long as you don't call me little bit you can call me whatever you want, James" His heart beat faster at the sweet lilt of his name rolled off her lips and she winked playfully at him.

He was struck with lightning. He couldn't do anything but grin stupidly at her as she turned and continued to cook on the grill. He didn't know how to do this anymore, flirt! That's what she was doing right? Was this considered flirting? Or was it her just being nice? He was way out of practice in this .

"I don't know the whole story," her face was turned towards the setting sun, lift breeze ruffling her hair as she stared off into space. "Yours I mean, or Rogers' or even Wilson's.... I don't pry." She turned to face him, finding Bucky's face a mask unreadable to even the strongest profiler. 

"What do you know?" His voice was tight suddenly, nothing floating around about him was good. He lived the majority of his life either frozen or as Hydra's biggest asset. He didn't want her knowing that part of him, he wasn't that ....thing anymore.

"Enough to know its not your fault," she smiled softly, a little upturn of the corner of her lips as her blue eyes met his own stormy grey. They held no lies, open and inviting. He didn't know how to respond to that.

Bucky has never been more thankful for a distraction as Skye and Natasha came out of the screen door, each holding a frosted bottle of beer as they came out onto the back porch. Shattering the slight tension like glass with a hammer. 

Mia smirked at Skye, easily falling bak into her bubbly persona and gladly took the long neck bottle from Skye. Bucky took the one offered to him by Nat and smiled tightly at her, she noticed but didn't respond. She knew how he could get when provoked in this mood.

"Oh you know me so well Skye!" Clinking the bottle with Skye's , Mia chugged at least a third of the bottle before making a face as if she hated the first taste of it before it slid down her throat. 

"Duh, almost done? I think these boys are gonna devour the table soon if you don't feed them," Skye smiled sweetly, teasingly and poked her friend in the ribs before climbing to sit on the thick wooden railing on the porch to watch. Their thick friendship easy to identify and smile at.

"Don't you know, Skye? A way to a mans heart is either through his stomach or his pants." Her eyebrows waggled suggestively, but her voice was light and teasing. It still caught Bucky off guard and he sputtered into his beer as the sweet talking girl uttered something close to vulgar. 

"Aw you made him blush, Cowgirl!" Natasha giggled, legitimately giggled as Bucky shook his head and covered his face with his hands as he laughed it off. 

Yes he was blushing a bit, he didn't ever remember women speaking quite like that. There were woman who did sure, but the kind that did were usually okay with the things they spoke about and meant every dirty word from their pretty mouths. Mia just looked to sweet to ever be that kind of girl, he found it kind of, a turn on.

"He's gonna have to get used to it, my mouth is worse than a sailors when he sets off to sea without any rum." With a chuckle she walks inside with a heavy plate piled high with steaks. Smiling as she went with a beer in her free hand. "Supper time!" 

The entire group dove into the table like starving men. Stealing each other's steaks, fighting over sides and scrambling to eat just to have more. Mia and Skye laughed softly at each little fight or argument, their bright eyes sparkling at the full table as they sat back and watched in amusement.

With full bellies and heavy sighs it all settled down finally and they all sat in comfortable conversations around the table as everyone got to know each other a little bit more. Mia sat back in her chair, slim fingers wrapped loosely around a fresh bottle as she listened and replied when needed, mostly she watched and observed, the smile never quite leaving her face as the sun sank low and finally vanished under the horizon behind her. Her eye shining as if she hadn't seen a sight like this in a long while and missed it.


	10. Chapter 10

10

 

Bucky was having trouble falling asleep. He always had trouble when in a new place. Sleep meant nightmares, even when he was comfortable where he was it was still hard to let himself stay calm enough to actually fall into a deep sleep. It meant he was vulnerable, unsafe, couldn't protect himself.

Heaving a heavy sigh he checked the watch on his wrist. A birthday present from Steve, the first one since his memories returned. It was nice, really nice. A Rolex, one that was sleek and black, with military time on it and was basically indestructible. Of course if he wanted to, it would crush in his fist.

The hands read that it was a little after two in the morning. Everyone had slowly went to bed late that night. Full from a heavy, delicious dinner and hearts light as new people got to know the others.

A camaraderie had easily formed with Skye and Natasha, both talking animatedly about computers and hacking abilities and techniques. Ward was a bit withdrawn, a sign that he'd only been out of shield a short time. Not quite comfortable letting himself loose with new people. But still acknowledging the others, keeping Skye close to his side. It took time, Bucky knew firsthand.

He'd been fitfully dozing for the better part of three hours. It wasn't much, a bit less than usual but he'd take what rest he could before the next day. Another ten minutes of trying to fall asleep again and he gave up trying. 

Heaving another heavy sigh he rubbed his hands over his face, ruffled his long hair out of his eyes and decided for a walk to calm his mind. The property was large, enough for him to explore a bit more and maybe help him sleep again when he got back.

The house was silent, everyone deep asleep in their rooms. He passed the closed doors and went down the stairs, the windows were half open. Screens keeping the crickets and night bugs out of the house as the cool, early summer breeze billowed the warm colored red and orange curtains.

Making his way outside Bucky took a deep breath of the cool air around him. It was fresh air, something he could get in the city he loved so much. But it was crisper, sharper scents carried on the winds. Fresher, wilder than he was used to.

A light flickered on towards the garage, the side door cracked open as the soft tinkling noises of tools rattled around inside. Curious as to who would be up doing what at this hour, Bucky made his way over to the open door and peered inside.

Over the half assembled engines,the Dodge Dart sitting in its space ready and waiting to tear into the highway, and across to the other side of the garage was Mia. Leant over the engine of ,in his minds eye and before him, looked like a 40's army truck half hidden by a beige tarp. 

In his curiosity, Bucky had walked silently into the garage, booted feet silent as he made his way over to the woman leaning into the engine. Her jeans were black with the amount of grease and oil smudged onto the denim, her plaid shirt sleeves rolled up to her elbows as she reached up and swiped at the sweat on her brow with the outside of her wrist, effectively smudging a grease stripe over her fair skin. Bucky nearly smiled at the cute thing she was, the little grease monkey. 

"You know, I'm not trained or anything, but a girl knows when she's bein looked at." With that she straightened up some and turned her face to look right at Bucky. He hadn't exactly been trying to hide but he couldn't well deny blatantly staring at her now that she had called him on it. 

"Can't help it doll. Specially when you're so damn cute." He smiled at her and inside gave a victory whoop as she blushed pink under her dirty cheeks and rolled her eyes at him. This flirting stuff was coming back to him a bit. 

"Well long as your here, I need a three quarter socket wrench." She pointed behind her to a tall rolling stack of drawers covered in greasy hand prints and stickers. "Third drawer down." She leaned back into the engine, mumbling softly to herself as Bucky found and handed her the tool.

Bucky leaned his left hip onto the side of truck, watching how her hands worked into the tight spaces and she loosened bolts for the part she wanted. They stood in silence for a few moments. 

"Nightmares." For a moment, Bucky didn't say anything. Then it hit him. She hadn't asked about him being awake at this hour. She was telling him her reason for not sleeping.

"Same here." He wasn't going to hide it. Everyone around him knew of the nightmares, the memories that came in the middle of the night and haunted him for days or weeks afterwards. 

She glanced up at him and he saw a shockingly familiar sight in her steely gaze. That haunting look behind the eyes that spoke volumes without uttering a word. Whatever was keeping her awake, followed her during the day. God did he know how that felt. But he didn't offer words that would fall on flat ears like the others said to him. He simply smiled softly at her and got her mind off of it.

"This looks a little familiar." The fingers of his metal hand tapped against the faded army green of the truck. Making that sound he'd heard so many years ago in the camps. That heavy metal that only these older models could sound out.

She smiled and nodded, standing up straighter and winced as her back popped a few times. "I found it at an auction a few years back. It just looked... Well here and see for yourself." She walked around him and grabbed hold of the trap, pulling it off of the truck to reveal what was underneath.

The truck had seen better days. That was the understatement of the year. The entire back where it should have had a skeleton where a tarp snapped into place was gone. Every panel was riddled with bullet holes and even a spot on the tail end where it looked like a grenade had gone off near the poor thing. It had a will to live if it was sitting here right now.

"It was headed to the scrap yard and I just couldn't let go. It still ran somehow even after all this." She tapped a bullet hole and Bucky shuddered at the thought of the men who had died around this truck. 

He walked around it. A sense of familiarity as he stood by the truck door on the right side. It was off color and didn't match the rest of the truck. His brow furrowed and he walked to the other side. The drivers door was dusty and rusted on the edges. His flesh hand swept over the panel and he froze. 

"Where'd you get this again?"

"Hmm? An auction somewhere out of Georgia I think. Why?" She asked, walking around to find a frozen Bucky staring wide eyed at the faded wording on the door panel in old military style print.

"This was one of our trucks.." He whispered out, his mind a mix of flashes of memories and the sounds of gunfire and shouting from commanding officers. Staggering back Bucky found the wall behind him and slid down it. Mia wide eyed and dropping to her knees in front of him, worry evident over her features but Bucky didn't see her. He saw his men, his friends his brothers, as the convoy was shot down and his first real taste of war at the hands of hydra. 

"James? Bucky? Hon wake up!" She snapped her fingers in front of his face and sat back on her heels as Bucky was lost in a myriad of memories he had yet to unlock until now. Biting her lip, "Sargent!" 

Bucky's eyes and shoulders snapped to attention and his head whipped to face her fully before the cloudiness left his stormy greys and he shook himself of the last images. "Sorry.. Hits me like that sometimes. Didn't mean to scare you."

"Takes a hell of a lot more than you zoning out to scare me Bucky. Are you okay?" She crouched back down in front of him, tilting her head to the side so she could see his face. 

Was he? "Yeah I'm fine." He was. Right? He'd had worse flashbacks than this alright. But the sight of the battle scarred truck behind her nearly sent him into another one. He held it back, barely, by focusing on her instead. How her steely blues turned azure with her worry, how her brow furrowed a bit, her hair falling from the heavy ponytail at the nape of her neck. The smudges of grease and dirt over her lightly tanned skin. He felt the images fade away of shooting and the memory of gunpowder and metal as he focused on her. It was the quickest he'd ever recovered from a barrage like that. 

"Yeah sure you are." She obviously didn't believe him for a second. "Come on , want to help me replace the radiator?" She offered a hand as she stood up. They both knew full well that she'd never be able to lift his heavy mass up but the thought was enough. He slipped his hand around hers and pulled himself up, simply holding her hand just to hold it for the moment before he let her loose and they made their way over to the front of the engine again. 

They spent the rest of the night there, the darkness outside scurrying to corners and under buildings as the sky lightened with the first signs of dawn over the horizon. Bucky was a mess of grease and oil, she no better and laughing at him softly as he grabbed a shammy cloth used for the Dart and shined his arm with it. Making her laugh and toss a greasy rag at his chest.

Ward found them like that at half past six. Skye busy in the kitchen with Natasha and he heading outside to find the lady of the house. Knowing she'd be out here when he didn't find her in her attic room in the house. Smirking to himself he let them be, he'll come back around when he was done with the morning chores and it was time for breakfast. He hadn't seen her smile like that in a long while .


	11. Chapter 11

11

 

Steve couldn't find Bucky.

Momentary panic coursed through him. Unlimited scenarios ran through his mind as he rushed from Bucky's empty room and down the stairs of the farmhouse. Past a wide eyed and startled Skye and Natasha. And right into a smaller, but no less muscular, body at the front door. Both men stumbling and falling back at the suddenness of the collision. 

"Geeze Rogers, you’re solid…" Ward shook his head and stood back up, brushing his shirt. Steve swiftly got up, his worry still on the forefront of his mind.

"Have you seen Bucky?" His voice was sharp and held that tell-tale sign that he was in ‘captain mode’. Ward raised an eyebrow and looked over and up at the captain.

"He's out in the garage with Squirt, Rogers. Calm yourself, man." Ward rolled his eyes and brushed past the super soldier, ignoring the slight glare from Steve as he made his way into the kitchen to kiss Skye's forehead. Steve was already out the door before Ward made it that far.

Skye's face lost its earlier happiness and worry etched her features. "She didn't sleep, did she?"

"Her bed’s still made, so no." Ward responded while pouring a cup of coffee and taking a seat at the heavy wood table. 

"I swear, she's going to drop dead one day from sleep deprivation." Skye mumbled and placed another stack of pancakes on the table already laden with food. Natasha's eyes narrowed.

"What's going on with her, Skye?" The brunette didn't speak yet, simply bit her lip and sighed softly.

"Skye, she's my baby cousin, please, what's going on with her?" Clint came out of nowhere, crossing his arms and shooting a warning glance at Ward as the ex-agent narrowed his eyes at the archer.

"She's not sleeping regularly. Maybe three or four hours every few days, if she's lucky. I'm not sure why she can't sleep though." Skye shrugged and moved over to sit by Ward's right side, his arm coming to curl around her waist. His eyes screaming out that she was his.

"I haven't asked her about it because you how know she gets. She's stubborn as hell." Ward answered and gave a small smirk to Skye. "Sort of like a little hacker I know."

Clint and Natasha shared a look. Neither one had known about Mia's sleeping problems and could only give wild guesses as to why she couldn't sleep at this point. Both the spies instantly started on plans to get the blonde to spill and Ward saw it.

"Look, I've never worked with you two, you're legends, but I've been here for nearly six months with Skye and Mia. If she's not going to talk about it on her own terms, she won't talk about it at all." Ward finished and took a sip from his coffee mug, eyeing both the spies and meeting their gazes evenly. 

\---

Steve practically sprinted to the garage, he couldn't let his anxiety go until he could see for himself that Bucky was okay. His boots weren't laced and they made him stumble a bit as he opened the side door of the garage and called out, "Bucky? You in here?"

"Back here, punk," Bucky's voice sounded calm, light and Steve slowed his steps as he rounded the messy bays and shiny car toward the back of the garage, finding a down right filthy Bucky and Mia sitting on the oil stained, cement floor, with a mess of bolts and greasy metal between them. Bucky looked up and smirked at Steve as Mia kept glaring at the part in front of her. 

"What in God’s name have you been doing, Buck?" Steve raised an eyebrow at the sheen coming from his metal arm, the grease covering his chest and abs and right arm, the oil across his left cheek and the messy bun at the nape of his neck. He looked a mess, but the smile on his face was the kicker, he had that trademark Bucky Barnes smirking tilt to his lips.

"I was trying to fix this cam bearing by myself and mister metal hand decided to help..." Mia half growled out and, as Steve took a closer look, he could see the tell-tale signs that meant metal fingers had bent the object in her hand. 

"I told you I'd replace it, doll." Bucky grumbled playfully at her and she sighed, throwing a grease rag at him which he caught expertly. 

"Do you even know how hard it is to find part for this kind of truck Barnes?" 

"Well I-"

"Exactly!" She huffed and stood up, gathering the pieces into a spare box so that she wouldn't lose any of the smaller parts.

Steve stood back up and furrowed his brow, this truck... He walked around it slowly as Bucky helped Mia put tools away. Steve's fingers gently touching the scores of bullet holes around the tailgate and side panels of the truck. His eyes landing on the recently brushed off door and his breath caught.

"Uncanny, ain't it." Bucky spoke from his right, his metal and flesh arms crossed as he looked at the door panel too.

"How?"

"Straight coincidence." Bucky answered and stepped forward, his fingers touching over the painted numbers fondly before smiling a bit to himself and shaking the fog of memories from his mind.

"Auction, paid a pretty penny for it too." Mia spoke from out of nowhere, Steve turning his head to the left to watch as she swiped her hands in a, somewhat clean, rag. "I didn't know it was from your platoon..." 

They hadn't talked about it since earlier that night, but she had been worrying herself to death that they thought there had to be some sort of angle behind it. It really had been an impulse buy on her part. She had seen it online, the trials it had gone through and the ghosts of its passengers in it… She couldn't let it die in a scrapyard. 

"Nah, it's fine. I'd rather it be here and brought back to life than crushed into a block." Bucky smiled and headed out of the garage. "I'm starving, let's eat."

Mia chuckled and followed him out at a run, smacking his shoulder in a shove as she cleared the door to outside and shoved him with all her might as she took off. "Race ya, old man!" 

With a look back at Steve they both tore after her towards the house. Kicking up dust from the dry gravel under their boots as they followed that bouncing ponytail and the sound of scuffed cowboy boots skidding on pebbles.


	12. Chapter 12

12

Steve followed close as Bucky caught Mia around the waist and threw her over his shoulder into a fireman's carry as if she weighed nothing. Her squealing turned into half curse filled insults as she pounded her fists into his right side, Bucky's metal arm wrapped firm around her to hold her still on his shoulders. Steve chuckling the entire time.

"I swear to god Sargent Barnes if you don't put me down this instant I'm goin to shoot you!" She yelled out , her hair falling from the loose ponytail and covering her face as he walked up towards the house and porch. 

"You can try pipsqueak." Steve cringed at the absolutely murderous glare she shot him from Bucky's shoulder after he laughed. She started struggling anew and landed a nice blow to Bucky's side as she wriggled.

"Pipsqueak?! PIPSQUEAK?!" Her screaming and calling had brought out a curious Sam with Natasha and Clint hot on their heels, soon the entire household was out on the wide porch watching as Mia gave her all to beat up the super soldier assassin that was holding her firm on his shoulders. "I'm going to absolutely murder you James Buchanan Barnes!" 

Clint and Ward were nearly rolling off the porch railing, laughing as they witnessed the little spitfire openly threaten quite possibly the most dangerous man alive. Nat and Skye were rolling their eyes and yelling at Bucky to put her down before she hurts herself trying to fight him off of her.

"I do not like being manhandled. No sir, I do not! Put me down!!" She snarled at him, now quite agitated and less fun as she reared her knee back and caught him in the collarbone sharply causing him to stumble and grunt out a bit. 

"Better release her Barnes. You hold her any longer and she'll make good on those threats." Ward called from the porch as he poked Skye in the ribs to hide her camera phone where she had been video taping the entire thing.

Bucky relented, stooping down to set her on her feet. He gently brushed off her shoulders and ruffled her hairlike he used to do to his little sister Rebecca. Mia stood there in absolute silence. It was a bit unsettling as her eyes darkened and she cocked her head to the side sharply, popping her neck. She was trying to act menacing but honestly, it was coming off more as adorable than anything and everyone knew it. 

Finally she just groans and sticks out her tongue with a little 'nyah' sound as she stomps back into the house, everyone parting the way as the blonde grumbled into the house.

"I have never in my life seen anyone survive picking her up." Skye spoke wide eyed at the confused Bucky who had been watching her walk away with everyone watching him. Whoops.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that either she likes you, or the universe is hell bent on keeping you alive dude." Skye raised an eyebrow at his curious face and rolled her eyes at him. 

"She's right, you're lucky you're alive after that, I can't even pick her up." Clint spoke as he turned and headed back inside. "And she loves me."

"Come on boys, breakfast!" Skye spoke up again and skipped inside, Ward hot on her heels as she pulled him behind her .

Steve was a mix of shock, curiosity and slight awe . Shocked because Bucky was playing around with this girl he had just met as if she had been around him her entire life . Curious because how in the world had she not backed down and instead threatened the assassin with ease. Awed, because she had wormed her little way into Bucky so quickly that Steve feared his best friend may do something stupid if anything happened to the bubbly blonde. Oh boy. 

\---

Mia escaped from the rowdy house and backyard as Ward challenged Clint to a friendly archery competition. Sam and Steve and Bucky all huddled on the couches in the living room in front of the big screen playing Mario kart,( Mia hid all the war games just in case they triggered the soldiers).

Don't get her wrong, she enjoyed having the house full of people really. It's just, she's a loner. Not used to others being around for long periods of time. And the noise, she was so used to the silence of her everyday life that when Skye and Ward showed up on her doorstep she hadn't realized how accustomed she had been to the simple quiet. 

Making her way off the front porch and towards the stable, Mia reached up and ruffled her long hair from her face, absentmindedly gathering it up in her hands and pulling a hair tie from her wrist to pull it into a bun at the nape of her neck. 

The sound of soft whinnies sounded as her boots scuffed onto the concrete flooring from the gravel. Several heads popping from stalls as hooves pawed at the ground for attention from the girl.

"Easy guys, I'm here." Mia spoke softly, giving each animal a bit of attention before going to the large stall at the end where Leonidas called home. His massive dark head appeared from the top of the stall door and his nostrils flared as he nuzzled her offered hand.

"Wanna go for a ride boy?" She was answered with a snort and his huge hoof pawing at the door of his stall, rattling the wood with the force of his thrusts. Chuckling softly she pulled the bridle from the hook by his stall and easily put it on him. Leading him out of the stall and into the large open walkway of the stable, his hooves clicking on the concrete with his metal shoes. 

Helpful fact to understand - (Horses that are ridden a lot wear curved pieces of aluminum or steel or iron on the underside of their hooves so they don't wear down. A horses hoof is sort of like our fingernails, tough but still delicate at times.)

Bucky watched from the shadowed entryway on the south side of the barn, as Mia grabbed a handful of mane and leapt up into the animals back, like she'd done it a thousand times. The horse whinnied, pawed at the ground, tail flicking to and fro and she turned him around. Her eyes flickered to Bucky's form half hidden in the shadows of the mid afternoon light and she feigned a scornful look before her smile softened and she pulled the horse over to stand closer to Bucky.

"What are you doing out here?" She asked, reaching forward to pat the animals neck as he pranced in place, ready to get moving.

"I wanted to apologize, I didn't mean to upset you. If I crossed a line I'm sorry and it won't happen again." Bucky spoke, reaching up and crossing his right wrist over his heart like he'd seen Thor do a hundred times when apologizing for something. 

"It's fine, really. Just don't like being picked up and thrown around you know?" She smiled a bit and Bucky smiled right back, the tension leaving his shoulders as she accepting his apology. 

"Are you sure?"

"It's fine, promise. Just you know, don't do it again?" She smirked and Bucky chuckled and nodded. His gaze turning back to animal under her.

"He's big," and he really was, Bucky wasn't a short man. He was every bit of six foot two and built like a tank thanks to that super serum. This horse's shoulder was even with his own, it's massive head turning to snuff at Bucky's shoulder and turn around once done with his assessment, he didn't even acknowledge Bucky was there.

"Oh you big lug, don't be so rude,"she swatted the horse's thick neck and received a heavy sigh from the animal under her. Bucky laughed at the interaction.

Mia chewed her bottom lip softly, catching Bucky's icy blue gaze and holding it as she rolled the piece of flesh between her pearly teeth. He quickly refocused his gaze to the horse under her again.

"Would you like... To go with me? I'm not going far just need a quick ride through the valley.." She asked hesitantly and Bucky looked up at her.

"I don't think I've ever ridden a horse before in my life." He hadn't, that he was for sure. There was nothing familiar in his mind that he'd ever been around the animals at all.

"Oh.. Well that's okay. " she smiled and grabbed the purple nylon reins in her hands. "I'll be back around sundown if anyone asks okay Sarge?" Without waiting for a reply she clicked her tongue and that horse tore through the barn like it was on fire beneath his hooves.

Bucky's face dropped into a frown. He'd seen the look of slight disappointment on her face when he'd said no. He hadn't meant to upset her again but looking at her face before she tore out of the stable, he had. Kicking himself all the way back to the house he vowed to himself to stop being such an idiot and watch her facial expressions more.

Mia seemed to be the kind of girl who kept things that bothered her well hidden and tried to always be the bubbly girl that everyone saw as they looked at her. Bucky knew that look behind her steely blues, it was familiar. That look of keeping things back so others wouldn't worry about you. Keeping yourself closed off while staying close to those around you, it was exhausting, he knew.

Ward watched from the front porch as Bucky actually sulked his way back to the house. Face downward, shoulders hunched, boots almost scuffing the ground as they walked. He smirked to himself at the super soldier and stepped off the porch. 

"Hey Barnes, I lost the bet with Hawkeye and we made a new one. Who can outshoot who. Winner gets an extra steak at dinner tonight." Ward spoke up, challenging the soldier.

"You're on!" Bucky smirked, knowing he'd win anyways unless he went up against Natasha. Woman was dead on with a gun and they were evenly matched. He kept his eyes on the horizon for a sign of her coming back throughout the rest of the afternoon. Everyone relaxed and enjoying the quiet of the farm.


	13. Chapter 13

13

Skye flew around the kitchen, pulling trays out of the oven as the thick scent of cookies filled the kitchen and floating outside to the group on the back porch. She liked baking, not so much cooking real food, but she loved making cookies. It was something her and Jemma always liked to do when neither of them could sleep at night worried over Fitz.

The thought of Jemma had Skye's face taking a melancholy look as she thought of her friends on the Bus. She missed them...Arms came around her waist and she smiled, turning her face to meet the intense gaze from one Grant Ward. "Have I told you today how positively beautiful you are?" 

Skye laughed and swatted at his hip behind her as she moved the cookies onto cooling trays. "Now that you mention it, not in the last hour."

"Well let me remedy that, you're so beautiful Skye." He whispered into her hair and caused her to smile and lean back into his hold on her. Thoroughly enjoying her time with him without protocols and rules that kept them apart. 

"How can specialist Grant Ward be this... Sickeningly cute?" Clint spoke up from the open screen door to the back porch, arms crossed and raised eyebrows at the pair of them.

"You meet a girl like Skye here and you start forgetting to be a terrifying agent." He rolled his eyes at Clint, kissed Skye's temple and removed his arms from around as he stole a handful of cookies from her tray. Earning a smack on the arm from the hacker. 

"More like kidnap her from her van and handcuff her, interrogate her then become her SO." Skye retorted with an eye roll and walked out of the kitchen. 

"You were a slippery one that's for sure."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"Okay okay, the cuteness is too much, I just wanted a cookie kids." Clint snatches a handful and makes his way back outside.

"Kids?!" Both in unison making the archer laugh and duck outside before he's hit with a dish towel. 

"Are you teasing them Barton?" Natasha spoke up not looking up from the garden table in front of Sam and Steve. Sam and Natasha were teaching the Captain how to play poker and he was a surprisingly good study. 

"I can't help it. You've heard the stories about Ward as much as I have Nat. I don't see him being so..."

"Affectionate?" Nat finishes for her best friend and caught the nod he gave to her. Sam and Steve listening with half an ear as they spoke.

"He's a specialist, one of the best. But I seem to remember an emotionless little red head who smiled when she tried to take me out."

"We are not comparing what happened in Budapest to Grant Ward." Nat spoke sharply and gave Clint a glare over Sam's shoulder.

"I want to hear about Budapest.." Sam and Steve asked quietly and instantly regretted it by the look from both Natasha and Clint.

"We don't talk about Budapest." 

"Ever" Clint raised an eyebrow and the soldier went back to their game. 

Mia came clambering into the backyard on horseback, pulling the reins back to stop her mount at the edge of the porch railing. 

"Hey Little Bit, where have you been?" Clint jumped over the railing to land in front of her grabbing the reins from her.

"Went for a ride?" She gestured to the sweating horse beneath her and raised an eyebrow like it had been obvious.

"Yeah I see that. Figured you'd gone to take a nap." Clint gave a no nonsense face at her and Mia cringed a bit.

"Since you haven't been sleeping?" Nat piped up, leaning on the railing and reaching out to pat the horses neck.

"Dammit Ward..." She mumbles softly and sighs out, flipping back to lay on her back on the horse. "No I haven't slept well for months, make that maybe a year now?"

"How long?" Clint turned and patted her arm to get her to talk again. 

"How long ago did Shield fall?" She mumbled into her elbow as it was thrown over her face.

Clint and Natasha balked at the admission. That had been, nearly two years ago now. "Little bit, you should have texted us, told us what was going on."

"And have you do what exactly? Come hold my hand and tell me bedtime stories till I fall asleep? Ones about how the world is okay and everyone's not trying to kill each other? No thanks." She sat upright and yanked the reins from Clint's hand quick enough he couldn't grab onto them again, fully intending to storm off.

"That is if you guys even answered you're damn phones. I hear from you once every few months if I'm oh so lucky. I can't sleep because I worry about you guys." She turned to look at Steve and Sam and Bucky who had came out onto the porch a few minutes earlier. Her eyes traveling to his metal arm. "Came you really blame me?"

She sighed and leaned back to laying on her back and gave a groan. "Can we not do the 'dad talk' right now Clint? We have guests and I highly doubt they want to be eye witnesses to me chewing your ass out right now..." 

"Fine but we're talking later .."

"We're talking later missy, I know I know." Mia groaned out and rolled her eyes. The soldiers getting a first hand look at Clint's 'dad face' as he glared at her for a moment before sighing in exasperation and walked back into the porch to Nat. 

Skye chose that opportune moment to open the door and interrupt them . "DC is on the video link and wants to talk to Widow and Hawkeye." She got a round of star he faces before she realized her mistake. "Sorry, Director Coulson."

"You can call me Natasha if you'd like, Quake." Skye's soft gasp and wide eyes was enough for Natasha to chuckle and Clint to reach out and ruffle the girl's hair as they both went into the house.

"Wait, you're Quake?" Steve stood abruptly from his chair and looked wide eyed at the slim girl before him.

"Umm yeah... Long story... " she rubs the back of her neck nervously and Ward comes up to her whispering into her ear before she nods and reaches out her left wrist. The garden table Steve and Sam were sitting at starting to shake and quiver as if the ground beneath it was crumbling. Both men stumbling back in a hurry making Ward and Skye laugh softly.

"Easy!" Mia yelled out. Everyone's eyes turning to a spooked horse and its rider desperately trying to clam the animal. "Come on boy it's okay, whoa!" 

Bucky didn't know why he did it but he did, leaping from the porch railing and grabbing the horses bridle to stop its movements. He was strong enough to hold it's head still as Mia calmed the animal.

"Thanks, Bucky." Breathlessly she grabbed a better hold and jumped down to the ground, taking the horse from Bucky. She shot Skye and Ward a glare.

"Sorry! Are you okay!?" 

"I'm fine Skye but you know you can't show off with the horses around. They spook with the vibrations out of nowhere." Mia glared at her friend for a moment and earned a meek nods in response. 

Rolling her eyes and stifling a yawn behind her hand, she waved to them all and made her way to the barn, horse in tow and a super soldier to her left. A companionable silence went between them and Mia smiled to herself. It was a nice feeling.

Putting Leo back in his stall, Mia turned and leaned her hip against the stall door. Leo's head coming out to nuzzle her hair and snuffing it with a hot breath making her laugh and kiss his muzzle. Bucky watching closely, admiring the affection animal and human had for each other.

There wasn't much to say and it there was they wouldn't know what to say about it anyways. Mia jerked her chin to the side and Bucky followed as she walked the opposite direction of the house, hands in her front pockets, down a dirt path and away from the backyard. They fell into step beside each other as Mia lead them down a knoll that overlooked a good sized pond complete with floating dock. 

Making her way into the worn planks she plopped down as gracefully as a girl with no grace could and sat Indian style facing the water. Bucky planted himself beside her and they leaned back on their hands to enjoy the scenery. The soft plops of water signaling a frog or turtle jumping into the water or the little ripple as a fish as it broke the surface. It was peaceful.

"You and Barton are cousins, huh?"

She chuckles softly and leans her head back to soak in the sunlight highlighting her blonde hair into a sunset of its own colors. "Yeah, I know he told you but how could you tell?"

"The nose and eyes were a giveaway actually, not identical but too similar to not be related and his eyes are green where you've got this shade of steel blue I've never seen before." Her cheeks dusted pink.

"Super assassin can read people huh?" She jokes softly brushing the compliment under the rug. 

"You look nothing like Natasha though." It was true. She could pull off being Barton's sister maybe. But she looked nothing like Natasha. Where Nat was slim and trim, Mia was curvy with wider hips and shoulders. 

"Yeah, that's because there's no blood there, just distant marriage to Clint. We never really talk about it so I don't know much." She shrugged and looked over at Bucky. "But they're my only family."

"So he's sort of like a father figure to you?" She tried not to glance at the sheen coming from his metal arm. It was distracting and entrancing. That and his hair was up in a man bun and it was too damned cute for a killer.

She snickers and blows out a heavy breath. "Clint's watched over me since I was a kid. He's more a big brother but he pulls off the dad look, doesn't he?" 

"Yeah, he does." Bucky chuckles softly and leans back too, letting the sun warm his skin. It felt good to be outside and not looking over your shoulder for people to kill you. "Got any other family?"

Mia was silent beside him and he glanced over at her and was stunned for a split second. Instead of that smiling face that lit up the day there was a clouded almost angry expression on her features before she must have given herself a mental smack and she covered to up again.

"I had an older brother, but apparently he didn't want me or something, Clint was the only kin I had left and here I am." She shrugged a bit as if to brush it off and Bucky let her, he wouldn't pry into something when he barely knew her. 

"Who needs him." He spoke up and earned a half hearted scoff from her but her smile was slipping back into her lips. 

"Who needs him when I've got the two greatest spies as my family and the Avengers at their back?" She smirks and playfully hits her shoulder against his making him move with her because of he didn't she'd bruise herself trying to push his solid frame. 

He liked being easy with her. Making himself be gentle in these simple things. All he'd known for so long was to be dangerous, deadly, solid. Take a hit without flinching and give them back. He liked how she was tough but still pretty fragile compared to him, even compared to Natasha. 

Even with Steve he didn't need to hold back. Both of them tanks and made to take a multitude of hits before slowing down. Sam could keep up with them at least for awhile now. Mia was different.

Nat chose to come find them then. Calling out to the pair of them as they turned to look up at her approaching form. "Barnes, we gotta talk.."


	14. Chapter 14

14

The front door slammed open on its hinges. Heavy boots stomping onto the worn wood floor. Clint cringed, knowing exactly who it was and why they were stomping through the house toward the small tech room. He had just gotten off call from Director Coulson. The door swung open.

"You're leaving?!" Mia's breathless shout was heard throughout the house. Everyone but Clint and Natasha straying outside at the sound of the angered blonde. Skye ushering the soldiers out of the war path about to happen.

"Little bit.."

"No! Do NOT 'little bit' me!" She stomped closer and Clint stood from his chair, nearly towering over her as she glared up at him, those steely blues dark and wet with unshed tears. His heart broke.

"I can't help it...shield needs us."

"Screw shield! I need you! I don't see either of you for a year, a freaking year!! And you're here for a day and a half and have to leave again?!" She was screaming at the top of her lungs at him. And he hated every second of the onslaught. He hated seeing her like this. Natasha cringing at the sound of her voice cracking, her chest ached.

"Mia.. We're the best. If they need our help, it's our job.." Natasha came up on her right and raised an arm to place on her shoulder. But the glare she was sent from the angered girl was enough to lower her arm back to her side. One thing they knew for sure, don't touch her when she is like this. 

"I don't care if you're the best. I don't care if they need you. I need you! I hate being selfish but dammit I need you guys..." The fight was slowly leaving her, her hands still rolled into fists at her sides and clenching tightly. 

"We don't want to leave you either. But we have to sweetheart.." Clint came forward and started to wrap her into a hug but she refused. Backing up suddenly and shaking her head from side to side, hair flipping out of her bun.

"This isn't fair...you're all I've got left...I can't lose you too." She ran. She was fast enough to use the shock in the two spies and escape any type of maneuver to get ahold of her. She was out the door in seconds.

"Mia!!" Clint and Nat tore out of the door in time to see her pushing past Skye with a mumbled sorry as she leapt over the fence. One hand grabbing the top of the wooden post and swinging her weight up and over it. Taking off into the woods as fast as she could go. 

Bucky stood at the edge of the yard, worry written on his face as he tracked her movements as far into the trees as he could by this distance. He wanted to go after her honestly but it wasn't his place. Skye made the decision for him, taking off through the yard and climbing over the fence with Ward's help. Soon she vanished into the trees after Mia and was lost in the shadows.

"What the heck just happened?" Sam spoke up for everyone, eyeing the spies who looked heartbroken and guilty.

"Coulson needs Nat and me to go undercover for a recon mission."

"We just got here, man....Well it was a nice couple of days." Sam groaned and smiled softly with a heavy sigh.

"No, you guys are staying here. Coulson's orders too. It's just us, shouldn't be gone more than a week." Natasha leaned into the porch railing and crosses her arms.

"You're leaving her? After a year, she gets you for a day or two and you're going again?" Ward seethed from his spot across the yard, his agent face fully in tact and scary as hell to anyone besides the agents around him.

"It's none of your .." Clint started to speak out.

"It's none of my business?! Like hell its not! That girl opened her home to me when she didn't even know me. That girl out there cries herself to sleep some nights, has anxiety attacks every time shield is brought up on the news, and doesn't sleep because she's scared to death you won't come back." Ward had slowly stalked over to Clint, anger dripping from everyone word.

"That girl is Skye's best friend, she's my best friend and that's saying a whole hell of a lot because I don't make friends." Ward was nearly jabbing his index finger into Clint's chest. "She is a wreck half the time worrying about you two. And you have the nerve to leave her after barely 48 hours?" Ward shook his head walking backwards and raising his hands as if didn't know anything. 

"I respect you two as agents. I really do. But as parental figures? As family? You suck." Turning and climbing onto the large four wheeler at the edge of the yard. 

"You better have a damn good apology when you come back." With that he started the engine and took off into the yard, going through the open gate and towards a path in the woods. 

"You have to go?" Steve asked, arms crossed as he watched Ward vanish into the trees. Not pleased himself with how Clint and Natasha were treating that girl. He didn't get the whole picture but he had seen enough. 

"We have to go, it's urgent. With Ward refusing to go back onto Coulson's team and with shield working with a skeleton of agents, we're all they've got." The Widow sighed, rubbed at her temple with the tip of her fingers. 

"We'll go, you guys need to stay here, you're needed." Sam and Steve nodded at each other.

"No, as much as we'd actually like to switch. You guys can't do stealth like we can." Clint responded, before getting a raised eyebrow from Bucky. "Except you Frosty, but no offense but I don't think you're ready for missions without Cap yet." Bucky nodded back respectfully, he could do it with Steve there, without him Bucky would lose himself.

Clint and Natasha went to gather what they'd need, not much but they needed some time to think over the situation. Neither had realized how hard it had been on her with their disappearance, shield falling, the entire thing with ultron. They'd called a few weeks afterward to let her know they were alive but... Maybe it wasn't enough. Hell, they knew it hadn't been in the back of their minds. 

They'd just assumed she was alright. Just asking to see them like the little sister she was to them. But they didn't think about how alone she had been. That disappointment hidden in her bubbly voice and smiling face. Their jobs kept them busy all the time but they had time off... They could have come and visited more. They will visit more.

\---

Mia hid in her tree. A huge oak in the west woods, a good three feet thick and giant. She had to really work to jump for the first limb, but once she grabbed hold and climbed, she could reach twenty feet in the air easily. That's where she was, hidden in the thick branches and leaves, free to cry for a few spare moments before Skye or Ward found her.

It just, wasn't fair. And they could call her selfish, a self centered horrible person, but she was so tired of them gone. Natasha and Clint, they were all she had left. Her parents long run off. Older brother most likely dead from the way he was always looking over his shoulder.

Wiping her eyes angrily she climbed higher up into the tree. She heard Skye calling for her in the distance and the sound of Ward's four wheeler. She just didn't want to be found right now. 

Soon they were right under the tree. The sun was beyond the horizon and the shadows gathering under her tree, surrounding her in their silky touch and friendly hugs. She welcomed it, sunk further into the recesses of the limbs and leaves and let herself wallow for a moment.

Skye finally sat under the tree, arms crossed and refused to move, that is until Ward picked her up and held her to him as he pulled her away from the tree. Bless him, he knew she needed space. No matter how much she loved Skye, Mia needed to calm herself down. 

"You need to leave her be for a little while Skye, come on. She'll want some of your double chocolate chip cookies and a hug from her best friend after she climbs down from up there." Ward said just loud enough for Mia to hear from her perch and she choked back a smile. They were good friends, perfect friends.

Hours could have passed or minutes, she didn't really care. She just closed her eyes for unlimited minutes it seemed and took in the sounds around her. The bend and creak of the limbs as the breeze blowed. The soft chirps of a nest of swallows. The rustle of a rabbit on the forest floor. 

There's a theory, that if you sit, for a complete minute, don't talk, don't make a sound, don't make a move. It increases your senses for a moment. Everything is clear, every sound sharper, every movement easier to see. It's pretty amazing. 

Her senses were growing sharper just by being in the silence. It wouldn't last, the first big sound or movement would ruin the surreal bubble she was in. Someone would come find her she knew, come and pop the bubble with a needle sharp poke. 

The crunch of a twig at the base of her tree broke that bubble. It fell like shattered glass from a globe and brought her back to the world in a split second. Glancing down she didn't see anyone. Must have been the rabbit.

She leaned back into her tiny crook against the tree, curled in on herself and sighed softly. Her eyes hurt, her cheeks felt stiff with dried tears and her chest ached. Lovely. Bet she looked right pretty right now.

"Do not freak out." 

Mia screamed bloody murder, whipped her head around and nearly lost her seat on the trunk. Dark hair, shining blue eyes, glint from a metal arm. Should have known it was him. Who else could climb a tree that silently?!

"Holy Mary mother of god! The hell is wrong with you?!?!" She squealed, his hand on her arm holding her steady as she righted herself on the high branch. He smirked at her slightly and she smiled timidly back. 

They sat across from each other on the thick branch, thighs gripping the limb as they silently waited the other out. Mia swiped a hand over her face and grimaced at the feel of her tear stained face. Great, hot super soldier gets to see you crying. Smooth.

"I over reacted..."

"No, I don't think you did." She gave him a quizzical look.

"I think I really overreacted." She spoke again softly. Turning her gaze away from him and hugging her arms around herself as if it would hold her together. 

"When I left for the war, Steve had almost the same reaction. He cried and screamed and begged me to stay. To stay with him, that he needed me." His voice was soft, he didn't look at her, simply looked out through the limbs. She stayed quiet, listening intently. "Boy did he need me."

"It killed me to leave him. He was nothing but a scrawny little punk who couldn't stand down." He smirked softly, remembering it. "I had to go. I had to serve my country. He knows now, but at the time, I didn't enlist." He turned to look at her. "I was drafted."

"Bucky I..."

"I had to leave. I had to do my job. And even though it strained our friendship, even though it destroyed me inside to leave him, I came back." He chuckled softly. "Well actually he came to save me, but the point I'm trying to make. Is that I know it's hard, I know." 

He reached over and tucked a stray lock of hair from her face. It was too intimate an action for a pair that had only just met but, it felt right and she didn't flinch away. "But you gotta let them go. You gotta trust them. They'll come back to you. They're the best."

"You know, for an assassin you're really good at talking to crying girls." She said softly, rubbing the back of her hand over her now wet cheeks, trying to laugh and it came out as a half choked sob. 

"I can't let such a pretty dame cry herself senseless can I?" He whispered and pulled her in for a hug, his arms gently wrapping around her shoulders.

"Charmer.." She mumbles into his shoulder and hugs him back. Her arms coming up around his rib cage before she breaks down again. Sobbing into his shoulder, nails digging almost painfully into his back, his shirt wet with her tears. 

He just held her. His arms around her. He knew how she felt, felt it deep in his bones and hated that she felt that way. Shushing her softly like he used to do with Becca when she would fall and scrape her knee. Up there in that big oak tree, shadows surrounding them, blanketing them in a cool sheet of almost serenity. 

"Come on doll, let's get you down from here, yeah?" He pulled his head back, she refused to let loose of her hold on him. So he had to crane his neck and look at her from the corner of his eye as he carded his hand through her long hair. 

She nodded after a moment, taking a shaky long breath and closing her eyes. Giving him one last squeeze before she drew her arms back and leant up, catching his eyes as she dabbed at her cheeks with the cuff of her plaid shirt sleeve. Even crying she was adorable. 

"Yeah." 

"You okay?" Bucky asked as she went to start climbing down, his eyes watching her carefully in case she fell. 

"No, not really." Her gaze landed back on him and she gave a sort of half smile. "But I will be." She climbed down a few limbs. "Race ya down."

"You are on."


	15. Chapter 15

15 

The jet was loading up, engines roaring to life and turbines spinning into action. Clint and Natasha stood at the entrance to the ramp, watching as the group walked up to say goodbye and good luck. All of them except two and Clint was kicking himself because of it.

They turned to leave, they needed to or Coulson would have their heads for it. Boots sounded off the grass and dirt as Mia and Bucky rounded the corner to the jet and she ran straight up the ramp. Jumping into Clint's open arms and hugging him with all the strength she had. 

"We'll be back soon, I promise. Then we'll be here as long as we can." He held her close while Nat rubbed her shoulder soothingly, hearing and seeing her shoulders rattle with the will to hold back tears. Their girl was crying way too often for them to be happy about it. 

"Be safe, come back." She dropped her arms and turned to hug Natasha, the red heads arms wrapping tight around the slim girl and kissed her temple softly. 

"We will Malen'kiy volk," Mia smirked slightly. Little wolf, it's the little russian nickname Natasha gave her when she was younger. It didn't come out very often but it meant a lot to them both. 

Mia backed off, turning and walking off the ramp. She didn't look back and kept walking around the barn and into the house. The sound of the engines whirring before the cloaking device was initiated again and they were gone. Leaving nothing but a bit of flattened grass and a group of people looking up into the sky at nothing. 

Skye squeezed Ward's hand and made into the house, finding Mia hidden away in her attic room. Curled up in the widow seat with her arms wrapped around her knees. A picture in her hands of herself younger the first birthday she had after Clint got custody. Skye didn't say a word, curled up against Mia's side and wrapped her arms around her best friend, offering silent comfort as they watched the moon come up in the sky.

\---

"Any questions?" Ward asked the men as they sat at the kitchen table. All of them with a bottle of beer in their hands as they sat in a somewhat awkward silence. 

"How long was she by herself? Before you and Skye came here?" Bucky asked the ex agent. Crossing his arms on his chest as he leaned back in his chair. The weathered wood creaking a bit under his weight.

"Skye told me that Mia's been here since she was 14. So eight years, give or take a few months." Ward said coldly. He was disgusted honestly. He had no right in some ways but he didn't see it that way. Mia had become a fixture in his life like Skye. Not romantically but he loved the little spitfire blonde like a little sister. He'd been here and talked her out of numerous anxiety attacks himself. 

"Eight years? By herself? On this big ass property? Alone?" Sam leaned forward in his chair and raised an eyebrow at the specialist. 

"Yeah. So you see why she acted the way she did?" Ward questioned them all, Steve and Bucky both nodding their heads while Sam sat back and sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. His work at the VA making him think of how bad it can get for someone by themselves with anxiety. 

"Yeah, but I pegged Clint to be more... Attentive? He and Nat are so close, you'd think they'd be here more often." Steve spoke.

"I get where their coming from. They wanted to protect her. But it doesn't piss me off any less with their behavior." Ward seethed and drank heavily from his bottle.

"And they can't help it if missions come up suddenly. It's part of the job." Steve responded and tapped his chin lightly.

"I was a specialist, on the short list to be on the strike team. Even they get time off, I got time off. You got time off. There's no reason they couldn't both or one of them come up and see her for a day or two every few months." 

They all sat for a few minutes in the silence. The soft creak of floorboards upstairs signaled them that Skye or Mia was coming down the stairs from the top floor of the house. Each turning to find Skye and Mia standing in the kitchen doorframe and looking much better. 

"I want to apologize. Let me talk?" She raised her hand as all three started to talk over her. "Really, I'm so sorry you had to hear all that. I overreacted childishly and I shouldn't have when you all are guests here. It won't happen again." She smiled and tugged at her long braid.

"It's fine," Steve said and he and Bucky both smiled warmly at her. It eased the ache a bit in her chest at the warmth from them all and she nodded. 

"So!...." Skye bit her lip and tucked her hair behind her ear. "We usually have a movie night or play video games for awhile before bed. Wanna join us?" She asked a bit hesitantly to the others who all nodded happily.

"I'm gonna warn you, I will destroy you." Mia spoke confidently. The spark of her smile coming back more and more. 

Ward laughed outright and slapped his knee as he got up. "You're just gonna use their lack of know how to your advantage!"

"I never said I played by the rules, Ward." She raised an eyebrow and placed a hand on her hip. 

"Please, when have you ever followed rules?" Skye rolled her eyes and dragged the blonde into the huge living room.

"When have you? Little miss rising tide activist turned shield agent?" She earned a smack to her arm and she darted over the couch as Skye chased her around it. 

"Will shooting games trigger you guys?" Ward asked Steve and Bucky as he crouched down to open up the drawers under the big flat screen tv. His fingers roaming over the countless games in their cases. 

"No nazis?" Bucky asked and shrugged his shoulders, he hadn't tried but he's watched Sam play a time or two something called call of duty. It hadn't really triggered him. 

"Hmmm better not play black ops 2 Ward, it's got a a few maps with nazis and World War Two stuff." Mia piped up from the couch, they all laughed as Skye squirmed in the playful chokehold Mia had the brunette in. Skye tapped the couch and Mia released her. 

"The hell did you learn to do that?" Skye glared and pinched Mia's side.

"I watch waaaayyyyyy to many action movies is what it is." She laughed and deflected a couch pillow was thrown at her. 

"Anyways! I think maybe .... Damn. Lots of games have end of the world crap.." She rubs her chin and kneels down beside Ward as they pull out the other drawers full of games.

"Good god, do you have every game ever?" Sam kneeled down between them and looked over all the titles. "I think this collection is almost as big as Tony's."

"Maybe? I don't know. Clint always sends a box every month or two with all the new movies and games for me. He knows I like to play during winter when I can't go outside much." She shrugs and bites her nail as they look the games over. 

"I really don't want you guys triggered or anything. I'd hate to be the cause of you guys you know, having a fit or attack." She glanced up and met Bucky's eyes, his intense gaze making her blush pink and she ducks her head again. Steve smirking at the interaction. 

"Anything but nazis is fine Mia. Promise. We've watched Sam play a few games and they don't tend to bother us." Steve answered for himself and Bucky as they sit on one of the large couches around the tv. 

"Hmmmmm." Her face lit up and she glanced at Skye. "Dance dance drinking contest?"

Skye's face lit up and she jumped out of her seat. "Yes! I'll get the jack!" She dashed out of the room and into the kitchen. 

"Oh please no Mia... " Ward groaned and sat back on his heels. 

"Please Ward? Pretty please?" She widened her eyes, big steely blues round and just begging for what she wanted silently. Bucky snickered.

"God dammit, those fucking eyes!" He slapped a hand over his eyes and he groaned out as the others chuckled at him. "Laugh all you want, those eyes are evil!! Evil I tell you!" He relents and grabs the game, touching the Xbox to come alive and the tv to turn on.

"I don't know what you are talking about Grant. I really don't." She smirked a bit and Steve laughed as Ward groaned again. 

"Okay! The way we play is like this." Skye had ran back into the living room, four bottles of jack Daniels in hand.

"Good lord, you want us to get alcohol poisoning?" Ward asked at her. 

"Super soldiers? Jemma said they can't get drunk, but can get buzzed." She rolled her eyes and gave each a bottle before sharing the others with Sam, Ward and Mia. 

"As I was saying!! We challenge each other to a random song on the game. If you get a passable score everyone else has to take a shot for how ever many thousand points you get." She popped open the bottle in her hands.

"And fair warning. Mia and Skye can really dance to a few of these." Ward said and stood up as the game came on. 

"Okay.. How do we decide who goes first?" Asked Steve who was leaning forward a bit. 

"Rock paper scissors!" Everyone crowded into a circle and Ward counted down. After a few minutes of laughing and arguing, Mia and Steve were left challenging each other and Steve won with rock beating scissors.

"Okay pick a song and she has to dance it. You can have someone help you with it but that means that the dancer has to go next skipping the next person." Skye spoke up and sat down, handing Steve the controller and he scrolled through the songs. 

Mia gasped at the song Steve chose. "Really, Steven Rogers? Do you even know what that songs about?" She raised an eyebrow and pulled up Skye with her. "Girl I am not dancing this by myself..."

Laughing at his confused face Ward simply waved him down to watch as Skye and Mia set up the two player option. Getting in position as the song started, everyday I'm shuffling, by lmfao.


	16. Chapter 16

16

Skye and Mia having drank a bit past their limit last night and both passing out in drunken heaps on the couch twisted around each other in a heap of arms and legs and hair. Chuckling, Ward carried Skye up to their room first, tucking her in before heading back down the stairs. Only to find Bucky with a limp Mia curled against his chest and him heading up the steps. 

Ward raised an eyebrow at the super soldier. "I went to cover her with a blanket and she latched onto my left arm. Didn't want to hurt her." Ward nodded and turned around on the stairs, heading up the small second flight and up into Mia's hidden room, Bucky right behind. 

Her room was like a tower almost, the attic had slanted walls on two sides and a wide window the looked over the west fields and towards the stables. Her room was done in light blues and deep purples, silver and black accents everywhere. It wasn't too girly really, more elegant than you would think for her. The furniture all painted a pale white and the colors worked well together. 

Bucky walked past Ward as he opened the door, carefully pulling his arm from her hold as he laid her on top of the covers. Not sure what to do, with Ward right behind him he simply pulled a blanket over her and she curled into the pillows, her feet tiredly kicking off her boots. She huffed when they didn't come off and she simply went to sleep with her legs hanging over the side of the bed.

Both Bucky and Ward chuckled, the ex agent coming forward and pulling off her boots. Tucking her feet into the covers. "She's going to hate Skye for letting her sleep in dirty jeans but I'm not taking them off." Ward laughed softly and Bucky followed him out of the room and down the stairs. The two in companionable silence. 

"She'll sleep good tonight, it won't be much but she shouldn't wake up till morning." Ward spoke as they headed his and Skye's room. "See ya in the morning Sarge." Ward smiled and closed the door behind him. Leaving Bucky to try and get the ghost feeling of Mia wrapped up in his arms out of his head. 

\---

Mia did sleep all night. In fact she slept till late into the morning, waking with a start and rushing to get dressed. She hated sleeping late, hated it! Throwing a blue t-shirt with "bite me I dare you" written on the front and "I warned you" on the back, a gag gift from Skye a couple years back when she went through a twilight faze. (Internal shivers) She rushed down stairs with a hairbrush in her back pocket, one sock and boot on and hopping on the other foot at the stair landing to get the other sock on.

Skye laughed outright from her spot in the kitchen doorway and earned the hairbrush getting thrown at her leg. "Hush up woman! You let me sleep this late!?" She glanced at the grandfather clock in the dining room, "Ten thirty?!"

"Oh please, you needed it. Besides everyone was a little slow this morning." She shrugged at her friend and threw the hairbrush back at Mia.

Steve bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing out as he watched from the porch to inside to the shouting girls. Mia looked like she was fuming as she hopped about in a circle trying to pull her other boot on. He bite the inside of his cheek to keep silent.

Bucky and Sam looking up from the yard, not hearing the words but hearing the shouting. They had seen the horseshoe pit in the backyard and decided to give it a try. Bucky throwing them a bit too hard at first. Steve waved them off and shook his head laughing under his breath as he heard Mia curse as she brushed her tangled hair.

The blonde tore out the back door in a hurry and smiled as she startled Sam into jumping back as she ran and leapt over the fence again. Tangle free long hair bouncing in slight curls down her back as she took off towards the stables.

"She's like a tornado!"Sam yelled at the already vanished blonde and heard a cackle of laughter from inside the house as Skye came out with a glass of ice water in her hand. 

"You're just now noticing?" She laughed again and sat at the garden table in the grass, long legs folded under her in jean shorts and bare feet. "She got a full nights sleep, she'll be running like that all day long."

Bucky, Steve and Sam called Ward over to join them in a two on two game of horse shoes and that's how they spent the better part of an hour or two in the late morning sunshine. The heat was getting to them though, making all of the guys pull their t shirts off and Skye laid out under a shade tree to play on her tablet. Girl couldn't leave technology alone ever. 

Skye's phone buzzed in her pocket and she looked at the guys quizzically as she pulled it out. A text from Mia, wow she actually had her phone with her for once. -It's hot as hell in this garage.... Swimming?- Skye laughed softly and responded, already getting up and walking out to the house. -swimming!!!-

Mia came trotting around the stables a few minutes later. Swiping the sweat from her brow and smiling at them all as they said hello. She slowly climbed up and over the fence this time instead of flying over it. "Oh boy... Shirtless soldiers at twelve o'clock..." She blushed a deep red as she saw the sweat dripping down Bucky's chest toward his abs. Oh god, don't stare...

"All for you darlin!" Ward snarked and walked quickly toward her, arms open.

"Ew! Ward don't you dare!!" She took off with Ward on her heels, her boots slipping in the grass and he caught her, smearing his sweat all over her arms and shirt. "Gross!!!" She squealed and he let her go laughing with the others as she made a grossed out face and shuddered.

"Mia come on and get your suit on!!" Skye called from the house from the upstairs window.

"I'm comin Blue!" She started walking backwards as she looked back over to the soldiers, her eyes landing on Bucky for a moment too long and he smirked at her. Damn him. "We're going swimming at the pond, if you wanna join us." She turned and sped into the house.

The sun beating down on them and they all looked at each other before silently agreeing and heading inside to find their trunks. In their rooms they heard the slap of flip flops on the stairs as the girls ran out of the house and outside before any of them were ready. Bucky though, he rushed to find his black swimming trunks Steve had got for him and pull his hair back into a bun. 

He booked it down the stairs with Steve and Sam close behind him. He remembered the way down to the pond from last night. Laughing as Steve came up beside Sam, "On your left!" Leaving Sam exasperated and trying to run faster to keep up with the super soldier. 

They rounded the knoll and half tumbled half ran down the hill to the dock that the girls were already sitting on and covering their arms with sun screen. Bucky kicked off his shoes as Steve jumped already bare foot into the water in a cannonball. Causing Skye and Mia to scream and call out at the avenger as he surfaced and laughed at them. Bucky went next, leaping off the beach and landing in the water behind Steve who shoved him down into the water.

Sam flew in after them, spraying the girls again and earning some curses as they dried themselves off with the beach towels around them. Bucky splashed back at Steve, catching in the corner of his eye Mia and Skye standing up to shimmy out of their shorts and t-shirts. He'd seen her earlier in the "bite me" shirt and had chuckled to himself internally. It was adorable on her. 

Now he watched as she pulled off her cut off denim shorts. Revealing long tanned legs and...a gun?! Bucky swam closer to the dock, watching as a set of six shooter pistols were revealed on each of her outer thighs in detailed ink. The guns were held up by a leather strap holster filled with bullets around the inked leather. He was staring. And she saw him.

"Ummm Bucky?" Mia tilted her head as he gaped at her for some reason. She followed his trail of sight to her thighs and blushed crimson. She pulled a towel around her hips, blocking his view and shocking him out of his trance of wanting to trace every line on her with his fingertips. 

"Sorry.." His voice was thick and gravely and it had her blushing redder. 

"It's fine.." She dropped the towel after a second of thought and walked closer to him so he could see the tattoos on her thighs. They were a well thought out decision on her eighteenth birthday. She loved the way they looked. So real against her skin. They weren't like the guns Nat used, but the thought was there. Her own version of strength. 

Bucky pulled himself half onto the dock, leaning over on his abs as he reached out with one hand before stopping. Looking up at her for permission to touch her and he got a timid nod in response before he licked his bottom lip and reached out. Her skin was soft under the ink. Not a trace of scarring or the use of a heavy hand from the artist. It was as if she was born with them. 

"Why six guns?" He asked, taking his hand away before he grabbed those thighs and...... down boy. He sunk back into the water and his cheeks almost dusted pink, almost.

"I wanted a tattoo for my birthday. And Skye was on one of her random visits. I looked for months until I found these online on someone else." She sat on the edge of the dock, feet in the cool water as she traced the one on her right thigh. "They felt right, when I looked at them. I didn't know tattoos hurt so damn much." She sent a glare to Skye who didn't even look up from her sunbathing, just stuck out her tongue.

"They're beautiful. There were tattoos in my day obviously but nothing as detailed and real looking as this." He pointed to her thigh and looked at it again. It did look real.

"Thanks." She beamed a bit shyly and tucked some hair behind her ear. Sitting up and standing up again she tugged off her tank top and dropped it by her shorts. Bucky dropped with a splash and swam back to Steve and Sam, he did not need to be caught staring at her again.

Ward came up behind Skye, leaning over her on his hands as he kissed her cheek before jumping up and diving off the dock, splashing her feet and causing her to squeal. Skye was in a pale blue and green stripped bikini, long legs going for miles as she flipped the middle finger to Ward and lay back on her towel. Laughing, Mia grabbed her own shades and leant back on her elbows, soaking up the rays and enjoying the sunshine. She herself was in an army green and white camo combo bikini. Complete with little metal stars on the right side of the bottoms . 

They watched as all four of the men splashed and play fought each other in the water. Content with just being near the cool water for the moment but the longer they lay there the warmer they were getting. Looking over to the beach Mia got up and grabbed the foam boogie boards, handing one to Skye.

"Incoming!!" They yelled and dove into the water with a splash on the guys. Surfacing and laughing as they started to splash each other in the water.

"Water fight!" Skye screamed and grabbed Ward and Sam. "My team!!"

"You're so gonna lose! I got the super soldiers!!" Mia laughed and climbed her upper body onto the board, her wet braid heavy on her back as she grabbed Steve's shoulder and Bucky's right arm. 

They started attacking each other, Skye coming back from the beach with foam noodles and everyone hitting each other over the head with them like children.

"Ahhh! Halp!!" Mia screamed as Ward grabbed her up and threw her up a bit into the air, she went flying for a couple feet before she hit the water face first and came up sputtering and coughing. "Not cool Ward!!" 

"Please, you can take it princess." Ward called and went to swim back away from her sputtering form. Bucky coming up to her side and helping her stay steady on the surface while she caught her breath. "Mnn fine, just can't breath!" She laughed as she finally got the water out of her nose. 

Mia playfully spritzed water on Bucky face and caused him to chuckle softly as he lets her go so she can tread water on her own. "Princess, really? I'm dangerous!" She half yells across at him and he laughs back. 

"Hell no, you're a little princess baby! Skye can take hits better then you!" He laughs as she takes up swimming after him and he gets away from her easily. 

"Am not! I eat nails for breakfast!" She snarks and growls out softly when she can't catch him. Bucky comes up behind her and whispers softly to her. At first she is blushing because he's right against her side, but then she's grinning devilishly and she nods at him over her shoulder. 

"Hey Ward! Incoming!" Bucky yells, picks her up with both arms, jumping up slightly and throwing her like a spear, she goes flying right into Ward and dunks him under the water as Steve and Bucky start rolling with laughter as Ward sputters for breath. 

Hours passed and the sun sank lower into the sky. Everyone had climbed out of the water eventually and simply lay back on towels or in the grass to soak in the warmth. Tired from a day of splashing and swimming around. Mia and Skye had actually dozed off gently. Laying opposite ways with their heads gathered on a bunched up towel, sharing it as a pillow as the sun dried their wet suits and hair. Their skin a bit pink from the sun.

Steve and Bucky sat close to the dock while Sam and Ward were talking quietly a few yards away on the beach. The super soldiers relaxed down into their bones. A feeling they didn't think existed for people like them. Steve nudged Bucky's shoulder, smiling widely as his best friend smirked back and mumbled a soft 'punk' at him. He mumbled back a soft 'jerk' at him. 

"Glad to have you back Buck.."

"Glad to be myself again Steve. I feel... Amazing right now."

"That wouldn't have anything to do with a certain blonde dame would it?" Steve snickers playfully and earned a shoulder shoved from him. 

"Yeah, I think it might." He said after a minute, his gaze wandering to the dock where Mia and Skye were waking up from their short nap. Both of them sitting up and stretching, arms above do their heads but his eyes were glued to Mia. Her curves, her tattoos, her down right sinfully adorable bathing suit, her hair golden and curling in the sunlight, all of her.

"She's a good kid Buck."

"She's not a kid Stevie, that's the problem." He mumbled and scrubbed a hand over his face and softly groaned. 

"Well she's a kid compared to us Bucky. We are almost a hundred..."

"Ugh, now I feel like a cradle robber..." He flew back to land on his back with a thud on the grass because looking at her was not helping him hide his attraction.

"She's twenty two Bucky. Last we checked you're still around 26. Not too bad." Steve chuckled and poked Bucky's side. "At least in biology. You were out and about a bit more than I was."

"I just met her Steve."

"Yeah but it wasn't Skye or Ward that brought her out of that tree. It wasn't her best friends that she trusts with her life. It was you." Steve said, making Bucky jerk his head to look at the blonde beside him. 

"She could do better, much better." He shifted his metal arm and it shined in the sunlight, warming the metal a bit. His fist clenched, icy blues darkening. 

"We're here for the summer, that plenty of time to get a dame, Buck." Steve spoke as he watches Skye toss a towel at the blonde and the both of them laughing softly with each other. She really was a ball of sunshine, even with her anxiety flare ups. "Let her decide if she can do better or not Bucky." Steve stood and gave a hand to help Bucky up and they all helped clean up the pool toys and floats and towels, heading back into the house.


	17. Chapter 17

17

The blare of an alarm clock somewhere in the house roused Bucky from his, for once, deep sleep. The blare shut off and few moments later the soft creak of floorboards above him signaled that Mia was in fact awake. He glanced at his watch, tapping the button for the screen to light up. Six thirty? Why was she up so early?

Sitting up, he pulled in a pair of thin sweats over his boxers and waited at his opened door. The creaking stopped for a minute and then turned into the soft footfalls of boots on the stairs as she tried to quietly make her way down them. 

"Mornin doll," he spoke up as she rounded the corner from her small staircase to the second floor and she jumped about three feet out of her skin. Gasping and smacking a hand onto her chest as she glared at him. "Sorry."

"You are a sneaky thing aren't you?" She finally calmed her breathing and walked over to his open doorway. He smirked at her.

"Assassin/spy, comes with the job." He grinned as she rolled her eyes at him in the dim light of the early morning. "What you doin up so early?" 

"I got chores to do soldier. This place doesn't take care of itself you know." She smiled and started to turn and heading back down the hall.

"Wait a minute and I'll get dressed to help you."

"You don't have to do that.."

"I want to." His eyes bore into hers and he saw the light dusting of a blush on her high cheekbones. So cute.

"Five minutes? I need coffee." She smiled and went down the hall to the stairs, keeping her feet light as she could so not to wake the other people in the house. 

He watched her walk away from him. Wearing a deep green v necked t-shirt that looked old and worn but soft as it clung to her chest and waist. Her scuffed boots ticking softly onto the wood floors as she walked. Shaking his head Bucky turned back into his room, stripped off the sweats and pulled on jeans, boots and a white shirt. On second thought... He pulled that one off and grabbed dark grey one instead. Hard telling what they were getting into. He strapped a hunting knife into his boot, a 9mm into the back of his jeans. 

She had the coffee pot going, cup already in her hand when he made it downstairs a couple minutes later. Her hip against the open screen doorway as she watched the sky turn from a soft blues to yellows and a tinge of red and orange. The sun coming up over the horizon.

He had to stop and take it in, wishing he could have a camera to take in this moment. The way her hair hung down her back in soft silken curls. Her curves covered in the denim and cotton she wore like gloves. The first rays of light coming over the tree line and highlighting her steely blue eyes and her lightly tanned skin. He wanted to keep this vision on forever, she was perfect in this moment. 

She turned and flashed him a bright smile that almost outshine the sun. Offered him a cup of coffee and they sat at the table in silence for a few moments. She chuckled softly and tossed him an apple as she grabbed one herself and they got up and headed outside.

"What all do you do around here? Work wise?" Bucky asked as they bit into their apples and walked slowly towards the stables, Mia flicking on the overhead lights because the sun hadn't quite come up enough to light up the barn. 

"Clean stalls, feed and water the horses, then mow down the grass around the house." She took one more bite of her Apple before offering it to the closest horse stalled beside her. A pretty little one with red and white face. Boy did he almost regret asking that..

\---

Ward sipped his mug of coffee before heading out to the barn for his morning routine with Mia. He'd checked her room and thankfully her bed looked slept in but he doubted she got more than a few hours last night. He'd had the tv on and she walked in right when another lawsuit against shield was brought up. It was enough for her to lose focus and not join in on he movie like she usually did at night. No anxiety attack but she instantly become depressed again. He worried.

The sound of soft laughter paused his steps. Coming from the small corrals on the other side of the stables. He changed course and headed that way, knowing Mia's soft laughter as well as Skye's. What he found made him stop and stare.

James Buchanan Barnes, Winter Soldier and assassin. Was sitting on Mia's prized stallion, Leonidas. Fully saddled and bridled with the soldier on his back the horse was calm as can be. Ward had never witnessed anyone even come close to his back except the little blonde who was standing on the ground in front of the horse, instructing Bucky how to sit correctly and how to distribute his weight as he rode. 

Bucky gave a nod to Mia and she released her hold on the reins, Leo didn't even buck the soldier off. The animal simply stood stock still until Bucky gave the soft command to go and off they went into a soft trot around and around. 

"That's it! Roll with the way his back moves, good. Loosen your grip on the reins, perfect. Now make him slow down." Mia was giving off praise as she turned and watched them move around her.

Ward climbed up onto the metal gate to the corral and sat at the top of it, watching with a smirk on his lips as Bucky picked it up fairly quickly and even got cocky and spurred the horse on into a slow gallop in the corral. Mia jumped up onto the gate beside Ward and tipped her ball cap back to watch with a bright smile. 

"I think he's got it." She spoke as Bucky took the moment alone to test the other commands shed told him to try. 

"I'll say, how the hell is he even up there? Your horse HATES everyone." Ward shuddered a bit, he'd been on the receiving end of the horse's kicks and bites for months now. 

She shrugged, smirking and laughing softly. "Went to clean his stall and Bucky has just walked over and let him out like it was nothing. Figured might as well put him up there." 

"And he just... Let him on?"

"Yup, didn't even flinch when he swung up. And he's gotta be heavy right?" Ward smirked at her and agreed silently. If ward was pushing 180 with all his muscle, he could only imagine what Bucky weighed with all the super soldier serum. 

"'Sides, he's the only horse big enough to fit Bucky right. We could have put him on hurricane but he's a wildcard with new people."

"And Leo isn't?" He raised an eyebrow as Bucky came over to them and gently patted Leo's thick neck.

"Looking good partner." Mia chuckled and scratched Leo's ear as Bucky beamed. 

"This isn't hard at all." He beamed again but it quickly fell from his face as Ward and Mia glanced at each other and stifled a laugh. 

"Clearly we need to teach this city slicker what a real ride is like." Mia grinned from ear to ear looking much too much like the Cheshire Cat right now.

"Alright big boy, off my horse. Ward, you grab Hurricane and Ranger and saddle them up." Mia swatted at Bucky to dismount and she leapt onto Leo's back easily from the fence. Reaching down to adjust the stirrups back to her height. 

"What are we doing doll?" Bucky asked confused as Ward vanished into the barn. 

"Check on the perimeter fence soldier." She smiled and laughed softly. "You can ride, now let's see if you can keep up." She grinned down at him.

Bucky smirked, metal hand grabbing the reins by the bridle to stop the horse as she placed his flesh hand over the outside of her thigh. He saw her breath hitch and her eyes darken slightly. He leaned closer and grinned up at her.

"I think you'll find that I'm more than ready for that ride babydoll." He whispered just loud enough for her to hear and she couldn't stop her teeth biting down on her bottom lip and the blush splashing over her cheeks and neck. 

Ward came out with two big horses in tow. The one he handed the reins to Bucky was a deep blue black colour, like a spilling of gunpowder on a blue carpet that got stained and sprinkled with the blackness. His ears flared out to listened to take in the soldier as he patted its muzzle. 

Climbing onto a deep grey mount, Ward got settled in his seat. "I ran inside and left a note so they would know where we are for the day." Mia nodded thankfull and smiled as Bucky swing into the saddle.

"Ready?" She asked them both, hooves prancing on the dirt as they sensed the excitement from their riders.

"Ready." They both responded and Mia nodded, clicked her tongue and they were off behind her in a whirlwind of dust and hoof beats as the trio headed into the woods for the perimeter of the property. They'll hit the outer fence and then follow it around the 180 plus acres of land and woods. 

\---

Skye was up and awake at seven fifty and down in the kitchen to start breakfast by eight fifteen. Give her a break. This is progress for her. Finding the little note from Ward she put away some of what she was going to make. Perimeter fence day meant that Ward would be gone till early afternoon at the latest. So she didn't need to make as much. 

Steve clambered down the steps first, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and going straight for the coffee maker. His eyes narrowing as he realized Bucky wasn't downstairs with Skye. 

"Morning Skye. Have you seen Bucky?" 

"Hmm?" She looks up front he bowl of eggs she's mixing, "Oh, yeah he's with Mia and Ward doing a fence check. They should be back by noon I think." She handed him the little note Ward left her and went back to fixing breakfast for a super soldier, a soldier and a 118 pound half trained agent/hacker. 

Steve furrowed his brow, worry etching onto his features and Skye saw it quickly. She put the bowl down and walked over to Steve as he kept looking down at the note. Her hand reaching out to grip his wrist gently. "If you could catch up to them I'd say go for it but you can't ride a horse and it's the only way through most of the land out there." She squeezed his wrist assuringly, "He's fine Captain. He's safe here, you all are." She smiled when he relented and nodded, some of the tension leaving his features

Sam comes down and grabs his own cup of coffee, smiling brightly at Skye and Steve as he sipped his caffeine. "Morning little Skye!"

"Huh, I like it. You can officially call me that." Skye laughed softly and earned a 'yes!' From the smiling dark skinned man. 

"Was meaning to ask, why does Mia call you Blue?" Sam asked as he got up to take over frying bacon in the electric skillet on the counter while Skye cooked the eggs and flipped pancakes. 

"Oh, it's a nickname she gave me way back when. She calls me blue because when I left the orphanage I have myself a new name, Skye. You know, 'blue' 'sky'?" Sam nodded in thought and agreed , now he understood.

"So how large is the property Skye?" Steve stood to gather plates from the pantry, setting the table for the three of them. 

"Ward said its 183 acres, but a lot of it is deep valleys and few ponds and a thick woods around the whole thing. Hmmm here." Skye hurried over and opens up a drawer in the little desk just inside the kitchen, handing Steve a map of the area with a black sharpie line mapping out the property. 

Sam looked over Steve's shoulder and his eyes scanned over it quickly to put the information in the back of his head in case of an emergency. The Captain scanned over it himself, committing it to memory and remembering the landmarks on the map. You could take the soldiers out of the field but you can't take the training out of the soldiers.

\---

The trio came back to the house finally around one in the afternoon. They'd slowed down some for Bucky, he wasn't used to being Ina saddle all day long. But he kept up and Mia was thoroughly impressed. After putting the horses up and stretching backs and popping necks they headed back inside to find Sam and Steve on the losing end of a game of poker with Skye, a pile of chips in front of her smug little face. 

Mia and Ward laughed softly as Steve threw his cards down and crossed his arms, the super soldier looking every bit of five years old and pouting. It was adorable. The blonde girl threw herself into a kitchen chair and gave a jerk on her neck, popping it loudly and leaning back into the chair as it creaked under her. Ward kissed Skye's cheek and commended her on her winning hand, again. While Bucky smacked Steve's shoulder and slumped into a chair by Mia. 

Bucky felt a slight weight on his shoulder and turned his head. Mia had fallen asleep in two minutes flat of sitting down, her shoulder and cheek slumping against his left shoulder as she dozed lightly. Skye smirked, pulled out her phone and snapped a pic before anyone but Steve and Sam noticed the flash. She sent it to Clint.

"She's really out." Sam leaned forward and snapped his fingers in front of her face. A hand slapped his away as Bucky maneuvered slowly to gather her up against him and to his chest as he picked her up.

"I'll take her upstairs.."

"No just put her on the couch, she'll wake up in an hour or so." Skye spoke up and stood to gather a pillow from the middle couch in the living room. 

Bucky leant to place her on the couch but the moment his left arm started to pull away a small hand grabber his and latched with a death grip in her sleep. He looked up at Skye who was stifling a smile and shushed at him. Silently mouthing to him that it was his call as he looked down at the hand tightly holding his. He gave a huff, climbed up to sit on the last cushion of the couch and lay Mia head on his thigh. He could go for a quick nap too.

\---

Four in the afternoon and Mia was rousing from her long nap, she felt a little sticky from the long ride this morning, needing a shower. She stretched her back slightly, finding she had a pillow under her head but something didn't feel right. Usually when she napped on the couch her feet were on the middle cushion instead of crammed into the very end by the armrest. She was curled up against something warm, that smelled of metal and cologne and ....cologne?

Her eyes opened up and she was met by the sight of icy blues looking down at her from above her, a metal hand carding through her hair and she instantly blushed a deep crimson. Bucky Barnes was letting her nap on his lap?! He was combing her hair?! What the hell did she drink to get this kind of hallucinogenic dream!!?!???

"Hey sleepy head." Bucky says softly and stops his fingers from flowing through her hair, why? Why'd he stop? It felt so good... Dammit down girl.

"Why?.."

"You fell asleep the minute we got back, fell onto my shoulder in the kitchen and when I tried to lay you on the couch you wouldn't let go of my arm." he wiggled his metal fingers and she didn't know she could blush anymore. 

"I am so sorry bucky!!!" she sat upright and started to mumble out apologies, blushing furiously that she had latched onto him like that.

"Don't worry about it. Not the first time you clutched my left arm in your sleep." he smirked. Mia swore her heart skipped a beat at how carefree and relaxed he looked just then. Wait... Not the first time??

"What are you.."

"When we played that dance drinking game, Ward took Skye upstairs and I went to cover you with a blanket. You just reached out and grabbed onto my fingers and I couldn't get you to let go without hurting you." He grinned again, reaching out to tuck a lock of blonde hair behind her ear. 

"Oh my god... I didn't mean! I was asleep... I'm so sorry!" She stammered, slapping both her hands over her face in absolute embarrassment. 

"Maybe I liked it..." He whispers softly and shocked, Mia jerks her head upright at the pure sincerity in his voice. "Maybe I like that you don't run screaming at the sight of me." His face changed to one of regret and guilt and fear. 

She reached out and gripped his left hand, the plates warmer than she would have thought at the sight of the shining metal. It felt just like a real hand, but not at the same time. The plates were smooth and gave your spine a chill as you touched over them. It was silent as it moved like an arm, you would think that the plates would make a lot of noise to move and rotate but they don't. It's a tiny little whir even at the best of times. She gripped it tightly in her own hand.

"What you've done? What they made you do, when you didn't even have the choice? That's not your fault. None of it." She gave his hand another squeeze and she felt a small one in response. "Besides Sarge, I've encountered worse."


	18. Chapter 18

18

Clint and Natasha had left Mia on a Tuesday. And she was counting the days until they came back. They said a week at the most. It was only Friday and she was growing restless with her worry. Skye and Ward noticed right off the bat, Thursday evening she had been a blushing stammering cute mess after waking up from her nap with Bucky. 

By Thursday evening at dinner she was withdrawn and didn't eat much. Excusing herself from the table without hardly eating anything and slunk into her room without a sound. Skye and Ward both tried to cheer her up with movies, games, poker and even resorting to ice cream and the girl still wouldn't come down from her tower. 

Friday morning she was already outside. Her bed mussed but not slept in. Ward gave a deep sigh at the sight of her room, pictures on the floor in piles and the shoeboxes they called home tipped over as she had went through them. Skye found him like that, hands in his pockets and worry etched over his face. She hugged his back and they hashed out another idea to maybe lift her spirits. 

"Bucky? Can we talk for a minute?" Skye came up to the soldier as he and Steve were sipping coffee on the back porch, enjoying the sunrise and quiet. His brow furrowed and he nodded, following the brunette as she walked into the yard more.

"What's up?" He leaned on the fence with his hip and crossed his arms.

"It's Mia... She's, she's falling into an episode." Skye crossed her arms over herself, looking out over the dew covered grass. "We can usually keep her occupied when she has them but, were worried she might try something. They're getting more frequent since shield fell and now that Barton and Romanov are on a another mission... I think she's spiraling." 

Skye handed him a bundle wrapped in leathers and his eyes widened at the sight. Two pistols wrapped in holsters were in Skye's hands, she must have kept it hidden to her side as she handed them to him. "We found these under her pillows... Their loaded Bucky."

"You don't honestly think she's so far gone to do that do you?" He asked incredulously. Yes, the guns were a bit of a surprise but not the thought behind them. He knew exactly where this was going and he had to stop Skye.

"I think she's hurting and .."

"Stop. Right there." He took the guns from Skye's hand and held the bundled leather straps in one hand. "She's not even close to that cliff. Don't argue with me on this Skye. I know for a fact how far gone you need to be to want to do what you're thinking." He turned over his right wrist, showing her the angry scars there. Her eyes widened.

"She is far from that point Skye. Trust me, I would know." He stood to his full height, towering over her and have her a bit of a glare. "Regardless, I'll talk to her. But you should apologize for going through her room like that. That was rude and breached her privacy." Skye looked between a scolded child and hissing kitten as Bucky walked away from the yard and toward the garage where he knew Mia was hidden. 

He knocked politely on the inside of the door. The blare of a radio in the back of the garage making it hard for her to hear it. When he didn't get a response he continued into the garage, stepping over the now complete engine blocks and fixed dirtbike. He almost smiled, those engines had been half put together the last he looked and now they were ready to be put into a car. She'd been busy.

Bucky wasn't too concerned yet. Yes, in reality he should be, she was spiraling down a dark road with no light on. But she was far from the cliff edge Skye was worried about. Mia was hurting, she felt alone and it scared her. But she wasn't so far gone in this bought of depression that she would end her own life. He knew from experience it took a hell of a lot to get that far.

Bucky found her a few moments later. Her long legs folded up under her as she sat on the hood of her Dart. Her jeans nothing but a black mass of grease and a fresh hole in one knee, the denim fraying in her fingers as she pulled at the strings. Her hair tangled and haphazardly pulled through the hole in the back of her ball cap without a hairtie. His heart sank, she'd been crying. Her dirty cheeks stained with the tracks of tears long since cried out as she sat in almost complete stillness. 

"Hey doll," his voice was soft so not to startle her but she still jumped a bit and let out a tiny squeak as she turned and saw him standing there. Like a little rabbit being jolted awake by a wolf.

Her hands directly went to her face as she swiped at her wet cheeks, only accomplishing to smear her cheeks instead of clear the remnants of her tears away. "Hey." Her voice croaked out and he felt his chest clench a little more. 

He came over and instead of denting the hood of her car with his weight, he leaned against the workbench a couple feet away. "I won't ask if you're okay, because I can see you're not. So I'll ask this, on a scale of one to ten, how much do you want to hit or shoot something?"

It had the right effect he wanted, she gave a chuckle and wiped at her eyes again, giving him a small smile in return and it didn't look forced. Score. "A seven? Maybe a six and a half?" She spoke, her voice less strangled than before as she cleared her throat some. 

"Well, why don't we remedy that?" He pulled the bundled up holsters from his side and handed them to her.

"How did...did you go in my room?!" She growled at him, anger flashing over her face.

"Easy there doll, no I didn't. But Skye did." Bucky leaned back into the workbench. 

"I should have known they'd look through my room...they think I'm going to jump out the window or something." She groaned and rolled her eyes softly. 

"She means well Mia."

"Yeah I know, it's why I love her so much. But that crossed a line." She sighed and looked over the guns. Her fingertips brushing over the warm gleaming metal of them. "You didn't ask me why I have these."

"Should I be concerned about it?"

"I'm a scaredy cat with anxiety problems and hints of depression."

"That doesn't answer my question. Should I be concerned because you have them?"

She waited a moment and shook her head. "No, I wouldn't do that." 

"Then I don't have a problem with it." He smirked a bit and leaned forward some, pulling his 9mm from the back of his jeans and showed it to her. "What I'm concerned about is your absolute primitive choice in pistols." 

She laughed and took it from his offered hand, Bucky surprised a bit as she pulled off the clip and inspected the barrel of his gun. Slipping it back into place before handing it back to him, butt first. "I like the sleekness of the guns you guys use, but you can't beat the beauty of a .357 Smitth and Wesson. It's got an intimidation that your nine just can't accomplish." She smiled at him and pulled one from the holster in her lap, flipping it around on her finger and handing it to him gently.

Bucky looked it over quickly with a trained eye. He was schooled in every kind of gun imaginable. It was clean and free of rust, his trained eye finding no serial number to trace it back to her, smart. She had sanded them down and smoothed it so it looked perfect and without blemish. 

"Let's put that to a test then?" He challenged and handed it back to her. Standing up straight to slip his gun back into his jeans easily. His arms reaching out to grip her waist and help her down, he loved the dusting of pink on her cheeks as she blushed when he touched her so casually. So cute.

"You're on Sargent Barnes." She grinned slightly at him and they made their way out of the garage and into the backyard towards the east. 

\---

Mia was pretty good with the pistols, Bucky would admit to that. But he had to choke back orders at her as she stood and shot at the cans and bottles sat along the fence. Her stance was all wrong, and her hands weren't perfectly holding the gun to ensure safety to herself so she wouldn't break her wrist with the kickback. 

Another shot rang out and she'd missed entirely, hitting the fence post instead and he'd had enough. Obviously she's taught herself. Because no way in hell would Natasha let this girl not properly know how to handle a weapon like this. He stalked over to her and took the smoking gun from her hands, earning a shocked gasp from her.

"Okay, lesson one.." He spun behind her and tapped her feet with his boots, making her widen her stance. His left hand holstering the pistol into her thigh before landing on her back between her shoulder blades. "Feet shoulder with apart, you're bending your back forward for some reason and you need to stand straight." He pushed with his right hand on her collarbones lightly to get her to straighten out her spine as she stood. 

Mia hid the blush from her cheeks this time, thank you Jesus, because she was a bit frustrated with him correcting her. She's always thought she had a pretty good stance, but she'd never actually asked anyone's opinion before. Mostly just watched from movies and checking online if she was really curious. She knew if she had asked with Clint or Nat, even Ward, would have gotten suspicious or outright denied teaching her.

"Try again." Bucky asked as he stepped away, his warm hands leaving her and she missed the soft touch quickly. But instead focused on the task at hand. 

Pulling her .357 off her right thigh, Mia flicked the hammer back and aimed with both hands, taking careful aim before pulling the trigger. The plastic bottle she was aiming at popping off the fence with a jolt and spray of water. She hadn't hit it right center but it was close, very close. 

"There we go! Good shot." Bucky smiled at her beaming face as she turned to look at him. "But I think you can do better." He saw her eyes flicker with something and it had him grinning. Determination. 

He fixed her stance again, just slightly and let her have at it again, emptying the entire six shot chamber out and only missing twice. She was getting better. Actually she seemed to have a small talent for it, though not as much as being related to Hawkeye would suggest. 

"Again." His voice was gentle but held that undertone of command, his mind flashing with images of commanding his subordinates in training years ago. It brought a faint glimmer of a smile to his lips. Again she shot, holstering her right pistol and reaching for the left, hitting the same as before and missing two. She was at least consistent. 

"Again." It had become a mantra for the past 45 minutes. Not much else said besides small changes to her form. Mia was tiring down, he could see it in the slightest shake of her hands as she would reload another chamber. The way she would subconsciously lean to one side instead of evening her stance between her feet. 

Bucky watched her reload again, holster both pistols and pop her fingers with soft cracks. He believed she could be a pretty good shot, and she'd shown him just how determined she could get when you pushed her a bit . But Rome wasn't built in a day. 

"Again." Once more he spoke and she grabbed the right pistol, both hands on the grip, eyes gleaming with grit as she let loose the trigger and shot all but one. There it was! Improvement, even in small degrees, was a win. 

"Great! Almost perfect that time." He praised and she smiled up at him. She had a turn around since this morning when he'd found her crying on the hood of her car, greasy jeans and dust covered face, tangled hair and blue eyes. Now she was just as greasy but there was a lightness in her eyes and smile on her face that wasn't forced. Her accent was thick with her joy as she hit her shots and he loved it. 

"Hey Annie Oakly!" Sam called from the yard as he walked over to them from the house, smile always present in his kind face. Mia smiled and rolled her eyes good naturedly.

"What's up Sam?" Bucky asked as Mia started to pick up her discarded shell cases , there were quite a few of them at her feet, her hands already full so she started filling up her pockets.

"Heard the shots and you about gave Cap a heart attack little lady. He thought the place was under attack." Sam grinned at her as she smacked a hand over her mouth and gasped sharply.

"Oh my god! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to! I should apologize to him." Her face tinged pink with embarrassment and both Bucky and Sam chuckled softly.

"It's alright, he needs to relax. This place is pretty well hidden on its own and hydra is far from knowing where we are." Sam responded trying to ease her obvious instant worry.

"Regardless, I need to apologize for not warning anyone what we were doing. I didn't think about how shots being fired outside would effect Steve at all." She bit her lip.

"Alright but let's gather these up first." Bucky rolled his eyes and started picking up shells that she had missed on the ground, filling up the upturned hem of his shirt. He hadn't realized how quickly she went through a hundred rounds or more. Of course he'd been watching her more than the gun or the shells or her targets. 

They all turned to head back inside, Sam watching as Bucky smirked and ruffled Mia's hair and how she laughed and playfully shoved at his right shoulder. Smirking to himself as Bucky grinned and pinched her side gently as she giggles and took off running toward the house, gun holsters stuck tight to her thighs as she ran , Bucky watching like a hungry wolf as she did.


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> SHIT. JUST . HIT . THE . FAN

19

Rubble discarded in piles, bodies of enemies sticking out from the concrete and dirt and broken glass. Smoke billowing in places as black as night with the acrid smell of destruction and death in the air.

This did not go as planned. Not one bit.

Natasha and Clint stood dirty, a bit battle dragged and with faces of absolute anger as they debriefed with Coulson and his team consisting of Bobbi, May, Hunter, Simmons, Fitz and Lance. All of them tired and with not even a little bit of victory from the battle won.

It had been a trap, a trap that they had all fallen for like children. A random tip off, a base with far too many hostiles inside. And every single one ready to off themselves for the sake of their cause. 

There was no intelligence to be had, not a single computer or mainframe there had offered anymore then the codes to the doors and the hanger. Nothing. 

Clint felt it just like Natasha did. That prickling sensation on the hairs on the back of their necks. That tenseness in the tendons and muscles of arms and legs and back. That gut feeling that something wasn't right and a sense of foreboding bearing down on them like a fire breathing dragon come to take back its castle. 

Nothing was sitting right with any of them, and Coulson knew it. "Go, wherever your gut is telling you to go, go. Call if you need us." 

Coulson could see the dread flowing over Clint's face. He'd worked with both of them for quiet a few years now, he'd seen dozens of emotions flicker over their faces. But he'd only seen fear a couple choice times in his entire life at shield. This was one of them. 

A grateful nod from Clint as he bounded off the start up their jet, hidden in the hanger of the playground. Natasha came forward and her hand landed on Coulson's shoulder. A million words being said in the simple gesture and Phil nodded back to her as she left, turning into a run as she headed up the open ramp of the jet.

Coulson watched them leave and his first instinct is to get on that plane with them, but he can't just run off. He's got that same feeling deep in his soul that someone he cares about could be in trouble. His eyes widen. Skye...

\---

"Come on, come on, Mia, answer your damn phone..." Screaming out in frustration Clint ended the failed call and instead called Skye. She'd have her phone on her the little hacker.

"Hello?" Skye answered and Clint felt a little bit of weight of his chest at the sound of her voice.

"Don't ask questions we don't have time." He could feel her switch into agent mode and he was thankful for that. "Lock it down, I got a bad feeling. Mia knows what to do and I'm sure she's explained it at least once. Wait for us to get there."

"On it." The line went dead and Clint ended his side of the call, his fingers flying over the screen as Natasha dialed Starks number. 

"Do you think we need to drag them into this? They're on their honeymoon Nat.."

She leveled him with a look that made the hair on his neck tingle and he nodded as the dial began to ring through the headsets.

"Stark. Code yellow." Yellow, was their code word for the location of the farm and any information they had on it and Mia. They have the information to Tony on strict confidence that he could only look if the situation was dire. They trusted him to do the right thing and come with Happy and Rhodey.

They didn't even know what was going on, but the flashing screen of that computer. The only one left after the fall of the ceiling. Flashing one little thing in yellowed words on a black background, stuck in their minds. "You can't save them all."

They had a pretty good idea who hydra were talking about. Mia. They'd want her because of who she was related to easy enough. Skye, her powers were remarkable, and Whitehall had been after her anyways. Ward, for infiltrating their ranks and spilling their secrets to Coulson. And Bucky, oh god they wanted their little tin soldier back. 

Clint pushed the small jet as fast as it could go, pushing past the limits as he headed towards the safe house. Praying they'd locked down and we're all safely hidden when they all got there. 

\--

Mia sat beside Bucky on the fence. Watching the horses run around and play and graze. Both in a sweet silence that had them smiling. Bucky was relaxed down to his soul, Mia was smiling and aiming it at him and he actually felt, happy. For once in a very long time. Her small hand felt warm clasped in his metal one, and he wasn't letting go anytime soon. 

She still had her guns holstered on her thighs from earlier that morning, not bothering to remove the familiar heavy weight from her person. She liked the feel of them next to her, in arms reach if she ever needed them. And Bucky had agreed with her, he too liked the weight of a gun or two at his hips and knife on his belt. And he'd liked that she enjoyed the feel of the weapons instead of shying away from them. He didn't like princesses, he liked warriors. 

"Mia!! Bucky!!" Skye's scream was almost hysteric and both of them froze from their bubble of comforting silence as it shattered around them like frosted glass, before leaping off the fence and running towards the house. Skye waving from the porch and motioning them to hurry up.

Inside Skye slammed the door shut and looked wide eyed at them both. "Barton called, lock it down." Mia's eyes widened before she nodded and ran over to the tv cabinet. Flipping up the hidden panel on the side of it and revealing a codebox. Punching in a code only she and Natasha knew and the house rattled slightly before steel plates started dropping from the windows and doors. Sealing them inside. 

"What the fuck is going on?!" Bucky's roar stopped both girls into statues as they blinked. 

"They had me memorize this in case of an emergency. Whatever's going on, someone knows we're here." Mia spoke, a slight waver to her voice. She'd never had to actually use that code. She was suddenly terrified.

"Hydra?" Bucky asked as Ward bounded down the steps, a click sounding as he finished putting on his vest of weapons. He was dressed head to toe in his tactical gear. 

"What's going on?" Steve asked as he saw Ward geared up and the steel plates over the windows and doors, casting the inside of the house into half darkness as only like the lamps lit up the rooms. 

"Hydra." Both Ward and Bucky said together and Steve nodded, ran to his own room to grab his shield. The face of Steve Rogers gone and Captain America fully to the front. 

"Most likely." Ward responded to Bucky's earlier question bitterly and grabbed Skye's arm and Mia too. Pushing them to the stairs. "Go get on your suits. Skye help her with the harness, go. Now." Both girls nodded and ran up, Mia stopping at the top and giving Bucky a look of fear before she vanished behind Skye.

"Clint's never had her use the lock down code, this is bad." Ward said as he followed Bucky's hurried steps to his room. Watched as he tore off his shirt and shifted through his bag, pulling out the one armed Kevlar and leather vest. The one thing he thanked hydra for, their design for tactical gear.

"Think they know I'm here?" Bucky asked as he cinched the vest on tight to his torso. Ward turned around as Bucky pulled on the pants of his suit, clipping it to the top and sliding on the weapons holsters to each thigh and calf. He had a gun on each thigh along with a black razor sharp blade beside each. Another set of blades on each calf, a blade in each boot. Another two guns on his hips. 

"I think that if Barton had her lock down, they know we're all here." Ward was checking over his own harness, making sure each clip was full and each gun ready. Four hanging from the harness, one on his right thigh and a set of blades on the other.

"Shit. They want the soldier.." Bucky snarled out, clipping his mini assault rifle to its spot between his shoulder blades. 

"They won't get you Bucky. I promise you that." Steve came up to them, he hadn't brought his suit but he still had his harness of weapons on him and shield issue mission Kevlar vest.

"They want more than you Barnes." Ward growled it as they headed back down to the living room where he'd directed Sam to the gun safe hidden behind the pantry shelves. He was already trussed up in his winged backpack but had a double gunned harness over his shoulders now.

"I infiltrated their ranks, spent years in their most secret places and I was spilling secrets the entire time. Once I met Skye and my identity was compromised, I tucked tail and ran. But not after bombing a couple of their labs that were working on a serum like yours Barnes." Ward tucked another clip into his belt as he head past Sam and into the tech room. "They want me about as much as they want you."

Bucky's and Steve's eyes narrowed at that revelation. They hadn't realized Ward had been in that deep, shuddered at the thought that this young man had been put to the test time and again against his real friends and colleagues. But what bucky was really upset about was the fact that they were trying to make more of the serum. That wouldn't bode well if they could duplicate it again. 

"They asked me to be in the test group for it. I refused, but you know how they don't like being told no." Bucky , Steve and Sam gaped at Ward, eyes wide. "No one had come back from those tests. I wasn't going through with that. They didn't ask the next time." Ward looked up from the screen as Bucky stared him down, Sam wide eyed and staring at the agent. "I went off the radar right after they tried to force me into a lab."

"That's when we came here. I knew it was safe from them. Until now." Skye spoke as she walked into the tech room. Dressed in full agent stealth gear and armed as much as she could comfortably carry. Her hair braided tightly down her back and a hardened look on her usually sweet face. 

"So hydra is after Ward, Barnes.." Sam started counting off on his fingers. Steve crossing his arms as he watched them all.

"Me." Skye spoke up. "Whitehall chased my birth mother for years for her abilities, chopped her up and left the carcass for my birth father to find. It drove him crazy to find me. And Whitehall was after me next, to try and do the same thing." Her small hands clenched into fists. "Problem is, i didn't get her abilities, I got my own."

"But even though Whitehall is dead they're still after her because of what she can do." Ward seethed and grabbed Skye's arm, pulling her into his side and wrapping an arm tightly around her waist. Ignoring the weight and press of their weapons between them. 

"So Ward, Barnes, Skye... Anything else?" Sam asked the small group and the soft thud of boots outside the doorway had them all looking up as Mia walked into the doorway to stand in her own set of tactical gear. 

Bucky's jaw? It actually dropped this time he saw her. This was a whole new side of Mia he had only gotten a glimpse of in the past few days. She stood straight and proud in her gear, a little nervousness in her eyes as everyone's eyes went to her but she held steady. 

She wore what looked like a mix of Skye's stealth tact suit and Natasha's black widow suit. Slim and a tight fit but obviously layered with thick ballistic armor but easy to move in. Jet black with hardly any light reflecting off the leather. It hugged her curves. From chest to hourglass waist to hips and thighs. 

Bucky's eyes traveled over her form. Looking at her with two mind sets. One was looking at every single line of her and committing it memory hungrily. The other was calculating every single weapon he could locate on her and several only his trained eye could find.

She had two guns, one on each thigh, and a long blade popping off of one shoulder. Too short for a katana but too long for a dagger, either way it was sharp and deadly. Another smaller blade on her belt along with three clips for her guns. She didn't have nearly enough to make him feel safe for her but it would do in case anything went down. He knew she could shoot a gun. The blades were another question.

Her hair pulled back into a long tight French braid down her back. Her eyes darkened with anger from the prospect of any of her friends being targeted and widened with fear at the seriousness on all their faces. Her gaze landing on Bucky's, locking onto his icy blues with her own steel. Giving her the courage she needed to stand tall and not be afraid while sending him an image of what she could become. It sobered him up quickly.

"I don give a damn what they're after or who. They step foot on this place and I'll take them all out." Her thick accented voice cut through them all as she stood to her full height and looked from Ward to Sam to Bucky to Steve.

"Captain, were on lockdown until Clint and Natasha get here. What are your orders." She spoke up, looking every bit the agent she could become in that moment. And honestly, Bucky was worried.


	20. Chapter 20

20

Movement in front of Ward and Skye had them scrambling, Skye jumping into the stool in front of the screens as she typed furiously into the multiple keyboards. Ward hovering over her left shoulder, left hand palm down on the table as he watched the screens. Security footage came up all over in front of them. 

Atv's and jeeps threaded through the woods, breaking through brush and vines like butter. Suv's and trucks were barreling down the dirt and gravel covered one lane road to the house. So far no sign of any aircraft, but by the looks of the multitude of agents flowing towards them, there would be soon.

"Fuck!" Ward shouted out in a snarl as he glanced up at Steve. His training and instincts telling him to look to his commanding officer.

Steve and Bucky moved to the screens. Watched as the vehicles moved closer and closer, coming from all directions and spread out. They'd known exactly where to find them. Their minds going into overdrive as scenarios and battle tactics drifted into their thoughts. 

Skye's fingers flew over the keys and a sudden ringing came into the speakers of the video call line set up above her bad behind on the wall.

"So that's the little hacker that almost got through the FRIDAY," the voice startled Skye to actually eep out and spin around in her chair to stare wide eyed into he screened face of the one and only Tony Stark. "Talk for another time cutie. Cap, what's the status?"

"We're gonna be surrounded in five minutes, maybe less. I count at least seventy, depending on how packed the trucks are. Heavily armed it looks." Steve crossed his arms, his gaze heavy.

"State of the house?" Stark asks, he's obviously in the suit from the way his face is zoomed in and the flicker of the screen in front of his face.

Mia stood up and to Steve's right. "The walls are two inch thick solid steel on each floor under the two inches of wood. Once the doors and windows are sealed its impenetrable by almost everything."

"Ah so you're the little wolf in the data Widow gave me. Gotta have Nat stop writing in freaking code. Confusing as hell sometimes, anyways! Almost everything sweet cheeks. I garuntee a well aimed bazooka will take out a wall or door. And they can smoke you out or cut the power. Let's hope they're pretty stupid like usual and won't think to do that last one." 

"What's you're ETA stark?" Steve asked and politely tapped Mia's shoulder to move as he turned and checked the video feed. They were getting closer.

"Not good cap, I'm at least an hour out at best. War Machine and Iron Patriot are twenty minutes behind me. Barton is..."

The modem stared ringing and Skye answered the call, syncing them together. 

"We're 45 minutes out." Barton's voice sounded and Bucky watched as Mia's shoulders sagged a bit with relief. He stepped toward her and easily pulled her into his side, gripping her hip to comfort her as she blushed a nice shade of red he can't appreciate right now. She leaned into him and didn't fight his hold, even though he knew he had to be bruising her hip with his tight grip. He couldn't help it.

"Sweetheart are you okay?" Natasha's worried voice came through the line and Mia fought back a sob at hearing the spies voice. 

"'M good Tasha, were safe inside." She says loud enough, fighting to keep the tremor from her voice and Bucky simply holds her closer to his side, peppering a soft kiss to her temple, his gaze hard.

"We're going to have a huge "family" talk when this is over aren't we?" Starks voice breaks the spell of silence that had followed a few minutes and shocked everyone into action. No time to relax anymore. "Well shit. Cap we've got another problem."

"What is it stark what do you see?" Steve leaned over.

"Got a plane and a jet coming from the south, non friendlies by the looks of em." Stark responded and his face showed that he had just boosted his jets faster than he usually did.

"Shit." Steve mumbled under his breath and looked around the room at his friends and make shift family. "Take them down stark." The rest of the team was too far out to be of any immediate help. They had a soldier, two super soldiers, a specialist, but then they had one half trained young agent, and one very untrained girl. 

Bucky and Steve's eyes met over Mia's blonde head as Bucky held her close. Bucky's eyes a cold ice blue that hardened the more Mia started to tremble in her fear. She wasn't made for this life, she may be tough in her own right but not this, not this. They both knew what had to be done. Protect Skye and Mia until help came. They had little chance with just the four of them trained as they were. 

"Phil!" Skye's voice cut through the soldiers gaze. Another call had come through. 

"Skye are you alright?" 

"We're fine DC, we're on lockdown here."

"Stay there, I've sent May, Bobbie and Hunter in a small jet to your location." He paused for a moment and the familiar pop of gunfire was heard in the distance. "They left just in time, were being ambushed."

"How!!?" Ward and Skye yelled into the mics.

"I don't know but they found the playground hanger. We're not letting them past the doors." There was conviction in his voice as another round of pops was heard. "Their ETA is 37 minutes, stay safe." The line went dead. 

"They're here..." Every single vehicle was converging into a circle around the house, each agent jumping out and aiming their guns at the structure. Ward squeezed Skye's shoulder and it gave her strength to flip that switch that May had taught her. She was a field agent now. 

"Captain?" Ward asked Steve, a look of understanding showing between their solid gaze before Steve broke it addressing everyone that could hear him.

"We sit tight. If they make a move first we'll be forced out eventually. In that case we'll hold three off as log as we can until reinforcements arrive."

Bucky joined in. "In case they're simply waiting for us to make the first move, we stay inside in shelter until Stark and the rest have cleared it enough for us to join in."

Everyone nodded and got ready. Both parties were in place and ready to strike. Question was, who was going to take the first shot?

Bucky gave Steve a silent look before pulling Mia into his side and walking out of the tech room. Her hand squeezing tightly to his as he led them around the base floor and toward the ammo stash behind the pantry. 

He didn't say a word, didn't know what to say at that exact moment. Instead he pulled her closer and examined her belt and gun harness. Cinching it tighter where it was too loose. Stuffing on fully loaded clips where she had room and could still move about. Her hands stilled his as he tried to fasten another blade to her hip. 

"Bucky..." She pulled his hands from her hips and curled hers over his larger ones in a cradle, pulling them to her chest above her heart. Her eyes clouding over like glass and he just knew. He couldn't lose her, not when he just found her. Not when they were so new to each other. 

He'd never regret it later as his lips crashed to hers, punishing her into a bruising, hungered kiss that had her back slamming into the metal shelves of the ammo racks. His much larger frame pinning hers there with little to no effect on his part. She tastes like apples and sweat tea, her scent like sunshine and smoke and gunpowder. 

His metal hand, the one specifically built to kill and had been stained red so many times he's lost count, cupped her cheek as gentle as he could manage in the moment. He may have bruised her, he wouldn't know. He just held her , his flesh arm slipping around her side to her back and landing on her opposite hip to pull her flush against him and away from the metal racks. A few ammo boxes and clips falling to the floor.

He finally released her, both gasping for breath and trying to fill aching lungs that had been starved for air. His forehead landed gently on hers as her eyes were glazed over, her chest heaving as his evened out quickly. The blush that was usually so apparent on her high cheekbones was gone. Only a slight flush on her neck that wasn't covered by the thick bullet proof suit snug on her body. 

"I will not let them take you from me." He growled out in an almost inhuman snarl. Grabbing her again and sealing his promise with another searing kiss that had her brain starved for oxygen and her bones melting into mush at his touch. 

Reaching up he dug into his collar and pulled out a military grade chain, yanking his dog tags off his neck and holding them out in his fist to her. Half of the long chain dangling with the stamped tags from he clenched fist. They were the old ones, his original ones, and he hadn't taken them off since he's come back to himself. 

Pulling up her braid he slipped the chain over her head and clasped her hand over the heavy, warm metal plates. She slipped them under her suit and leapt up, wrapping her arms around his neck tightly. 

"They won't get you either Bucky."

\---

Skye watches over the screen as she looks over the dozens of hydra pointing guns at their last safe house. Her blood running like ice in her veins when she spots a familiar face in the crowd. 

"Oh god ... No no no no no no no..."

"Skye?? What's.." Ward saw what she did and sent out a string of filthy curses from German to French to Russian and back to English as he pulled Skye off her stool and dragged her out of the tech room. "Be right in the hall Sir." He mumbled to Steve as he pulled a nearly hysterical Skye into the hallways. 

"Skye?" He snapped his fingers. Nothing but incessant mumbling a and her eyes were welling up with tears. " Skye!" Still nothing from her but more ramblings of fear. He grabbed her shoulders and shook her.

"He's going to get his hands on me Ward.."

"No, he's not Skye! I swear to you I'll kill that bastard for ever thinking he could take you away from me!" And much like the super soldier and the country girl in the gun safe, Ward latched onto Skye's lips like his life depended on it. 

Skye's arms came around his neck, tightening in their grip as she whimpered into his open mouth that coaxed her own lips to split and open for him as he delved into her. Pushing her body against his from thigh to shoulder so there was no space between them except the pokes and pods of the multitude of armor and weapons against them.

Desperate to show each other just how much love they had before their world was one again shattered and broken by hydra. As Ward's arms were tightening around her waist and pulling her even rougher against him, they heard it. That first pop that signaled something was going on outside. They separated. Met an equally as breathless Bucky and Mia as they all converged in the control room. Skye's butt slamming down on the stool as she started furiously typing over the keyboards. 

"Oh my god..." One by one the little screens were going black. "They're taking out the cameras!!" Mia screeched as she leaned over Skye's right shoulder.

"Barton, stark, ETA now!" Steve roared as he watched the screens start to fill up with black and waves instead of clear pictures. 

"24 Cap." Clint responded , his voice deep with anger and fear as they all heard the whistle of the jet he was flying.

"I'm pushing it, so 35 minutes I gather." Tony replied, his face looking grim in the screen on the wall. 

"That means Coulson's team is still 16 minutes out." Steve spoke as the last few screens went out, leaving only Tony's face on anything. Steve could feel in the pit of his stomach this was bad. They were corned and trapped in a literal cage of iron and steel and now they couldn't get out without being shot at. 

He was seething with anger that his team was stuck. That Skye and Mia were caught in hydras game. That Bucky was once again targeted and found just to be slammed back into that chair and wiped for their amusement and work. His fingers had clenched into fists and he swung without thought, his fist going through the layer of plaster before hitting the wood beneath it. He didn't even feel it.

"Mia? Sweetheart I need you to stay with Rogers and Barnes okay? Just don't leave their sight." Natasha asked over the coms, the slightest waver to her voice bordering on hysterics. Natasha Romanov does not do hysterics. 

She didn't have a moment to respond. There was the unmistakable sound of a metal torch cutting through two inches of steel. Bucky grabbed Mia by the shoulder and sandwiches her between him and Steve. Her hands were shaking but her eyes were steeling over. Sam came up to the other side of Skye and did the same with her and Ward, getting a slight nod of thanks from the younger male. 

"Hold them off Cap, we're all comin."


	21. Chapter 21

21

She's not sure how it happened at all. She's really not. And if she thinks on it, she can't recall what went through her mind at the time. It was like a fast forward through a slow mo video? There was no way to explain it besides instinct. Pure and true instincts.

They had waited it out as long as they could. Coulson's team nine minutes out, Stark and his team catching up with Natasha and Clint as they sped toward the ridge where the house settled in. The next thing anybody knew was that the men on the other sides of the doors has gotten through the steel plates and we're now kicking into the melted pieces, bending them with the force and then the doors settled into the wood floor with a loud thunk.

Shots were fired before any men could raid through the house to the group inside. All of them but Mia had grabbed their first weapons and let loose a shower of bullets towards the now open doorways in the bottom floor. Mia had been shoved behind Bucky with Steve on her other side shooting in the opposite direction. 

She lost her hearing for a moment with the barrage of sound, her arms hovered over her head as she winced from the sound of her home for eight years being shot up with holes. She was terrified, her eyes blown wide as the shock of what was happening around her sank in. 

A shot landed by her booted feet and she flinched as sound and light came back to her in a tidal wave of senses. Her eyes flickering everywhere. To the broad backs of Steve and Bucky shielding her on either side. Over to Skye in almost the same position between Ward and Sam. Then to the staircase on her open side, where there was a man pulling up a rifle, aiming it right at her. 

She didn't know what happened in that moment. One split second that masked man is pulling up the gun, aiming it and finger squeezing the trigger. The next he flinches like he's been hit and then drops. A stream of thick crimson color flowing from a hole right between his eyes. Her gun light in her left hand.

She looks down at it. Doesn't register she's just killed a man. Wether or not that he meant her and her kin harm. She didn't care. Instinct came over out of nowhere and she ripped her right hand up to cup the gun in her left. Taking out three more coming down the stairs without blinking. She'd maybe have a breakdown later. But now was not the time. 

"You alright there baby doll?" Bucky yelled over the firing of his rifle, the sound of bullets ricocheting off of Steve's shield. 

"Ask me after this is over!" She yelled back, taking a lull in the line of men coming at them to switch her clip, fingers flicking the clip loose and it flung to the floor with a soft thud lost into the gunfire. Her right slapping in a fresh one and sending it off into another heart, dead on. She should really be concerned about this.

Bucky gave an almost smirk as he watched from the corner of his eye how well she was composing herself in this situation. But it was bothering him immensely how she flipped a switch inside her to shoot a man between the eyes like she had. He shouldn't be so damn proud of it either.

A cry of pain shook Mia out of her line of sight, Skye had been grazed in her thigh and she screamed out in anger. Her arm flinging out and she quaked the entire line of men off their feet and out the door. Breathing now hard she checked it over quickly and nodded to Ward as they changed ammo. 

"You alright Quake?" Mia called as she down a man in the kneecap and then his chest, dropping him down the stairs to growing pile of bodies at her feet. Bucky at her back and left as he downed man after man with precision that should have scared her.

"Right as rain Cowgirl!" She answered and sent another careful wave to make the men flowing in stumble. It was difficult for her to control her quakes like that, she was getting dizzy from it. "I need a drink." She mumbled and Sam let out a chuckle at that.

Suddenly Mia was on the ground by a kneeling Bucky and Steve, on her back and coughing up plaster and dust. It felt like a bomb had gone off on the front porch. Oh look at that, it had. Bucky's hand grabbed her upper arm and he shook her back to her senses. Shoving her behind him as Steve deflected a round of shots from the blown up open wall with his shield. 

"Fuckers are destroying my house!!" Mia cursed out in anger and shot blindly at another agent trying to sneak up on them from the side. His body dropping like a fallen doll.

"Damn good shot baby." Bucky smirked at her before raising his arm and doing the same to their right. This shouldn't be this natural, to stand like this in a crossfire with each other. 

"Thanks sweetheart." She spun and stood back to back with Bucky, checking her clip and sneering as more men tried to flow into the house, but the amount of bodies on each entry was becoming too much to climb over. 

"We gotta move! Flacon, Ward, start clearing a way upstairs!" Without a word they back off in their small group and started up the steps taking out less and less as their numbers dwindled coming from higher up.

"Move." Bucky pushed her up the stairs behind Skye, effectively sandwiching the girls between both sets of males as they made it up to the second floor. 

Ward and Sam took either side, kicking in doors and looking for any sign of hydra inside the rooms but they were mostly empty, an agent or two in each hiding that were quickly shot down.

Steve and Bucky taking up the rear and Bucky refusing to let Mia a single foot away from his person. His eyes icy and cold as he took out another one coming down the steps from the tower room, Mia's room. 

"Must be coming from the top floor." Ward spoke and took out another but Steve turned and started firing down the stairs. 

"Move move move!" his voice boomed as the group headed up the steps. 

\-----

The jet hadn't even landed properly but they didn't care, they switched off the cloaking device and ran out of the ramp guns blazing. May's team taking out as many as they could see and more from the looks of the trucks that just kept bloody coming out of the woods. 

Tony, Rhodey and Happy had taken out the aircrafts and let them crash, no one was surviving those kinds of explosions. Their pulsars shooting off as fast as they could, taking out groups by the handful from the air and kept aiming. Cursing when they saw the blown side of the house and the dozens of men flowing inside. They couldn't blow up the house, everyone was still inside. 

Clint and Natasha found a war zone in front of them. One single thing on their minds as they dropped hostiles right and left and even above their heads as Hawkeye once again showed his name sake and caught the sniper up in the tree. The body fell with a sickening crack that didn't faze either spy, an arrow in his skull.

\---

There had been a group of five men inside her room but once Ward and Sam shot them down it was empty. Bucky and Steve moved her heavy wrought iron and wood bed to barricade the door shut. Ward peeked out the shattered bay window. For the moment there weren't reinforcements coming

"We need to get down there five minutes ago." Without a thought Bucky handed Mia to Sam, not looking back he and Steve leapt out of the window with little effort. She ran to the window frame in time to see them both rising from half crouched forms after they'd landed. Super soldier serum. 

"Jump!" Bucky whisper yelled up at her and she stood in stock fear for a second too long. Ward hauled her up and literally threw her out of the window and it took everything she had not to scream as she plummeted down three stories. 

Bucky caught her around the waist, stopping her decent to a shuddering halt and she gasped in surprise, her entire body shaking with the realization she was just thrown out a window. She flipped the middle finger in the general direction of Ward she thought. And Bucky almost laughed at her, almost. 

Sam unfolded his wings and had just dropped Skye on the ground and was heading back for Ward when another spray of bullets shot into the grass around them. Grass blades shooting up like being cut with an invisible lawn mower. Mia stumbled as Bucky pulled her flush against his back and pushed her into the trunk of a thick oak tree in the side yard. Effectively shielding her from harm for the moment. 

A round of shots came and they were moving, the group of them taking off away from the guns and hopefully toward a safe spot for a minute. Steve at the front, Bucky to his left, Mia smack between them. Ward to his right, Skye behind him and Sam taking to the skies to watche their six. 

Two different rounds of gunfire from the opposite side of the house. Help was here. A shot of relief went through every single one of them but they were far from out of the woods yet. 

"We need to get to the jets.." Ward started to pant out, his breath just slightly winded compared to Mia's and Skye's as the tan behind the garage. His left leg limping a bit from his jump out of the window. 

Steve was seething inside. They didn't have a set of coms. He couldn't communicate with any of the help that had arrived. His eyes flickered to Bucky's as they moved in tandem, pulling Mia down between them as they crouched for another round of fire. Blue eyes glancing up and catching a familiar red and gold flash overtop in the trees. Tony.

Sam took off into the sky to catch up to any of the iron suits flying and shooting off in the air. Waving his arm as he careened closer to the iron patriot suit, the face plate peeling back to revealing the face of Rhodey. Sam pointed down to where Steve and the team was cornered on the back of the garage and he nodded. Pulling the plate back and signaling Tony to come and help them break out of the fire.

Mia was shaking, adrenaline coursing through her causing her vision to blur and narrow and her heart rate to skyrocket. Her hands trembling as she checked her side arms and she cringed, both of her thigh pistols were gone and one blade, damn. Bucky noticed and pulled one of his out, slipping it into her right holster and squeezing her upper arm without taking his full gaze off of his targets across the yard, metal arm gleaming.

A ting caught her attention and she looked at the ground, it was some sort of dart, not a bullet. If it hadn't been for Bucky's arm it would have hit her square in the chest. She glanced at it again and her gaze widened. What the hell?! These bastards were trying to sedate them?!

Iron Man and War Machine were in front of them, landing on the ground and shooting off a cloud of ammunition to take out the group of men that had been shooting at them and they were moving again, her wrist tight in Bucky's right hand as they bounded across the battered grass toward the now Uncloaked jet with Clint waving his arm hurriedly. They were still a few hundred feet away. 

Too far away for Bucky's liking. Because the next thing they know is a swarm of men are coming from out of nowhere and surrounding them, too close. Bucky's mind screaming at him as they circle a foot from them all huddled in a circle. His hands shoving Mia in the middle of them with Skye as he calculated what to do. He'd been in this position before, but he'd never had to protect anyone .

His chest constricted, Tony Sam and all the others were caught in heavy fire and forced to take cover as more came at them. He and his team were trapped, again. His hand found Mia's behind him pulling her close to his back as he prepared to shield her as much as he could with his body. Ward doing the exact same as he growled under his breath.

"Daisy! Thank god you're alright! How dare you take her from me? She's mine!" Bucky's head tilted to get a look at the man walking toward the cornered group. He looked bedraggled, crazy in his eyes that anyone could see and even Bucky could feel the fear rolling off of Skye. 

Skye didn't say anything, just squeezed the hands that were holding hers, Ward and Mia crowding in on her as she whimpered and hid behind Ward's shoulders. Her agent frame of mind gone the second she saw his face and heard his voice. Steve and Bucky sneering at the man that obviously terrified this young woman. 

"She's not a pet or a toy Zabo. And you're not getting to her without going through me." Ward raised his gun, aiming it right between the madman eyes. 

"She's mine Ward. You're just lucky they want you alive." Before Ward could fire off a shot there was prick in his arm, looking down he saw a little dart, whatever liquid was in it already gone and in his blood stream.

"Shit." He grunted and dropped to one knee, breathing hard as Skye screamed out and huddled to his side as he weakly tried to push her back, his vision already tunneling.

"Those darts are made for the soldier but they work quite well for normal people don't they?" Zabo commented as he signaled again and the rest of them were hit with darts before they could lift their weapons. "Course even in the soldier it will take some time to move through the blood stream."

Mia and Skye both dropped to their knees , one hand clutching desperately onto each other as the other held onto their lovers hands. Mere seconds and they were out, collapsing onto the bent grass as if their strings had been cut. Heart rates slowing down so much they could be considered dead. 

Bucky grabbed onto Mia and pulled her limp body into his shaking arms, Steve at his back and both fighting the effects of whatever drug they were shot with. Zabo coming up to them as Bucky snarled out, his arms tightening on Mia's limp form.

"Ahh they will be very pleased. We got the soldier, his little pet, my daughter and the notorious Ward." The crazed man clapped his hands together and ordered them all rounded up. 

Thick cuffs put on all of them, Steve passing out as Bucky was wrenched up and Mia torn from his weak hold on her. Bucky just couldn't stay awake any longer. And his body went limp. Skye carried carefully in Zabo's arms as the others were carried or manhandled into the armored truck pulling up beside them.

As Bucky was tossed into the floorboard, Ward and Skye and Mia all beside him, Clint took a shot into the gut as he was running to the truck. Natasha was down, a shot in her thigh that just missed her artery, may knocked out cold by the porch, Bobbie and hunter both taken out with the darts and unconscious in the middle of the burning backyard. Sam downed by a shot to his metal wings, his arm at a weird angle as he tried to get up. Rhodey and Happy both trying to help each other up from a sound wave that had disrupted the suits causing them to crash into the pond. And Tony, shot to pieces and one foot pulsar malfunctioning as he went flying to Clint, blood pooling out of his wounds.

Clint dropped to his knees with a grunt, eyes narrowing in rage as he saw Mia's blonde head of hair in a flash before the back doors were closed and the truck took off in a cloud of dust and gravel. Steve knocked out and his system working into overtime to combat the drug so he could get up. Clint screamed out in desperate rage , pushing Tony aside in his anger and attempting to crawl after that truck if he had to. 

"We'll get em back Barton, we'll get her back." Tony spoke to his friend , trying to calm him so he wouldn't aggravate his wounds. But it didn't look good. None of it did.


	22. Chapter 22

22

Bucky had woken up like this a hundred times before. Strapped into a chair, immobile and locked into a brightly lit room. His head pounded, his chest ached, his throat was dry, the lights were too damn bright and he tastes blood in him mouth. They'd beaten him up good while he had been out apparently. German pricks.

Training kicked in and he felt for the familiar weight from his tact suit. Nothing, he had nothing on him. Not the blade in his boot, not the harness across his shoulders, not the feel of his thigh holsters. Nothing. He was simply in his pants and boots, no shirt. A soft groan to his right had his icy eyes popping open. He was always alone when he woke up like this.

Ward was to his right, strapped and tied just like he was a few feet away, both of them facing the door. He had a black eye forming on his left eye and blood dried from trickling out of his lip. The younger man was rousing from the drugs too it seemed but slower then Bucky. He was already nearly fully alert, his arms flexing in their bonds as they strained under the thick leather. 

"Gonna kill em... Gonna skin them alive." Ward spat out a wad of blood and saliva to the floor in front of him and shook his head from the dizziness clouding it. 

"Get in line." Bucky growled and tried his leg restraints. One thing hydra knew well, was how to restrain someone with his abilities and he cursed them for it.

"Oh god, Skye!" Wards head shot up and he struggled in his bonds, only managing to bruise his skin more as he moved, the chair not even rattling. Bucky looked down and let out a heavy Russian curse. Both their chairs were actually bolted to the floor. They couldn't even tip themselves over. 

"Calm your shit Ward." Bucky growled at the other male and didn't flinch when Ward let out another set of insults. But Thai wasn't helping their situation and it wouldn't help the girls. "Dammit, calm the fuck down soldier!" He nearly roared and it finally got Ward to straighten up and compose himself.

"Sorry Sargent." Ward breathes deeply through his nose as he found his center and calmed his racing heart. He'd be no use to Skye if he didn't keep a level head. She didn't need her boyfriend right now, she needs Specialist Agent Grant Ward. 

"We'll get them out, or Cap will beat us to it." Bucky said as he stopped trying to get out of his bonds. "Punk won't give up until he finds us." He wasn't getting out of here without someone letting him out. And he detested being strapped into a chair, come to think of it.... Why wasn't he being wiped this very moment?

The lock clicking pulled him from that train of though and in walked a man that looked vaguely familiar. Tall, short hair, middle aged , a sadistically happy, dark look in his eyes. Most likely someone from his hydra days but he couldn't place him. But Ward did.

"Shmidt..." Ward spat out and Bucky's blood ran hot. Impossible. Red skull died, there was no way this was him. This had to be his son, it was the only explanation.

Shmidt looked both of them over before his gaze landed on Ward. "Grant Ward. Age twenty five. Height five foot eleven. Highly sought after specialist agent. Trained by John Garrett himself. Refused the super soldier serum program. Spilled intelligent secrets and double crossed hydra. You're a naughty boy Grant Ward." Shmidt smiled and crossed his arms over his chest as he stared down the young ex agent. His gaze switching to Bucky's icy glare, uneffected by it.

"Sargent James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes. Estimated age twenty eight. Height six foot two. Known as the Winter Soldier." Speaking as if to someone else and not the men in front of him.

"Get off your high horse you German bastard and tell us what you want, we ain't got all day." Bucky retorted, tired of the mans spiel of his information. 

"...known as the Winter Soldier. Effectively enhanced from Zola's original serum." Shmidt finished without missing a beat. He uncrossed his arms and went to the door, cracking it open an inch before coming back and standing in front of the two of them.

"Grant Ward will be put, along with the female Mia, through the system of injections for the serum. Hopefully the both of them will take." Bucky's blood ran cold like frozen ice in his veins this time, his hands curling into fists behind his back as he snarled out in rage. 

"As yes, you found yourself an interesting little pet there Barnes. Mia, no known last name. Age twenty two. Height five foot five. A natural shot with any kind of gun." Shmidt smiled ."Did you know her blood type and genetic makeup is similar to yours before the serum? In essence, she should take to the serum nicely and hydra will have another asset." He ignored Bucky's curses of rage and promises of death as if he wasn't there shouting them. 

"You son of a bitch! Don't you touch her with that! I'll rip out your heart you bastard don't you touch her, I will slighter every man here."

"Of course this time around we have a better handle on our brain wipe and training methods." Shmidt crouched down in front of Bucky and stared him right in the eye as if he wasn't a deadly killer. As if the only thing keeping him alive weren't the bonds on Bucky. 

"You shouldn't have shown us her potential today Barnes. She's a perfect shot when pressured. I think with the right...coercion. She will become quite useful." Sneering he stood back up and opened the door more and both males heard it. The softest echo of bloodcurdling screams from far off. 

"Let her go you bastard!" Ward struggled in his chair. "Let her and Skye go!"

"She's not part of this! Leave her alone!" His voice boomed as Bucky used all the force his metal arm could give like this. Still the metal and leather didn't budge, his arm was wrenches a certain way that he couldn't budge. 

"Ah, they've started the second round of injections." ordering a few men into the room they didn't untie Ward. Knowing he could take them out if he got free. Instead they pulled out a power tool and unbolted the chair from the floor, lifting it and Ward in one go and setting him on a trolley, bolting it down. "Time for your first set of injections as well." 

That left Bucky seething in his chair, metal arm whirring as he pushed the limits of the machinery to pull at the bonds holding him. They still didn't move and he watched Shmidt with a death glare that should have left him packing for Germany. This man was cocky and Bucky would kill him slowly. 

"Let her go. You have me. Let them go and I'll be the asset again, wipe me." Bucky spoke, his voice hard and emotionless as he sat there.

"Ah but why would we do that? You see Barnes. I've read over your files and watched you closely for years. You respond to punishment but only for so long." Shmidt crossed his hands behind his back and honest to God smiled at Bucky. "But you see, even after we wiped you, you still fought the wipes and the orders after awhile. And that was fine when we had a working cryogenic capsule for you to stew in for a few months but we don't anymore."

Bucky's instantly knew what he was getting at and he fought anew in his bonds. "No.."

"Now we have something to hold over your head. And once she's trained properly, you'll be working alongside her." Shmidt smirked and more men came in, unbolting the chair and moving him onto his own trolley. 

"Now, let's see how rusty you've gotten staying with the avengers, hmm?"

\---

Ward was in a rage. A blind rage. He saw nothing but red as he was wheeled down the hall and closer to the screaming. It hit his heart like a jackhammer. It was Mia he knew, but where?! Dammit he couldn't get out of this damned chair and he didn't know where Skye was. The screaming was just getting closer and closer until they wheeled him just inside a lab. 

His eyes widened. If he had seen exactly what Bucky had gone through in the forties he would have compared it to what he saw in that lab now. Mia, stripped down to her bra and panties, tattoos stark on her thighs with her paled skin slick with sweat, every muscle tense. She was strapped from head to toe so she couldn't move. Her mouth open in a constant shriek of pain as needles protruded down her arms and legs on both sides, pumping in a sickly yellow liquid that could only be the serum they were forcing into her. 

Her fists clenched so tight her nails were cutting into her palms and blood was dripping from her fingers. And Ward could only hope Bucky never saw this. It would destroy him. They had left the dog tags on her chest, the long chain curling and laying clear down to her belly button as her body quivered with pain.

"Ah, see, you're little friend is accepting it well, yes? Most of them die by the second set of injections. She is strong. We'll make a fine soldier out of her." Shmidt had come up behind him and whispered in his ear.

"We will kill every last one of you shit dicks." Ward roared from his spot, Mia flicking her eyes at the sound and starting to scream for him to help her and he could only watch as he was moved and the heavy steel door slammed and locked on the inside. Her screams died suddenly, the steel and iron blocking all sounds from the lab. "You'll die by our hands...."

"You will kill Mr. Ward, but it won't be us. You will comply with our orders, or little Daisy will not be kept away from harm."

Ward bit his tongue hard enough for blood to pool into his mouth and if he thought he was angry before, he was wrathful now.

\---

"Do you think she'll make it through to the last set of injections? She's small, less than half the size of the Asset."

"She'll make it through. She is a fighter. Full of untapped skills." Shmidt responded and kept watching as the Winter Soldier was commanded to go through the paces of his old training routine. Watching with a sharp eye as he downed his opponents. He wasn't killing them, he was knocking them out. Oh, that wouldn't do.

He tapped the com button for the training room. "You're to kill, not to wound. Do it right this time." The soldier sighed, a deep sag of his shoulders , long hair in his face, before he grabbed the next target and slammed his head into the wall, cracking the poor kids skull wide open. 

"And the Asset? He'll comply now even though you're not going to wipe him? And of the other female?" The speakers voice wavering slightly in fear at the sight of the asset swiftly killing off men he knew.

"Oh he'll be wiped, just enough so he knows the only thing he should care about is that little whore on the lab table. And that if he steps one toe out of line, she's dead." Shmidt looked over to the screen split in two. "They will both become the 'bitches' to temp the 'dogs' into line ."

One side showed Mia, long hair shorn off to her shoulders and stuck to her forehead as she went through the transformation. It wasn't nice and quick like Rogers' had been. They had to give multiple injections with ounces of ounces of the serum to put enough into her body so it would take over her system. Her eyes were blown wide in fear and pain, he was impressed she hasn't passed out from it actually.

The other was of Skye, or Daisy. Trembling in a cell in a pool of red. Her fathers dead body slumped into the opposite side. They had given her a shiv for when she awoke, testing her little training she'd had. And the moment she found it and her father walked in? That girl went on the offensive and slashed his throat clean and precise. Her face and neck stained red from the arterial spray of blood. She'd make a good asset as well. Along with her abilities.

"And Ward? Shouldn't we kill him for crossing us?"

"This is worse than killing him. He'll be unable to go against our orders. They all will. I'll keep them all on tight leashes , my little army of dogs. With the Winter Soldier as alpha." Shmidt grinned into the window as Bucky dropped three more men with their necks snapped. His eyes cold as ice.


	23. Chapter 23

23

Silence is worse than noise. With noise you can tell what the surroundings are. The patter of feet. The whisper of voices. The tapping of owns on clipboards. The thump of fingers on tablets. The rhythmic beeping of heart and brain wave monitors. The creak of leather straps holding down the struggling body of the blonde on the steel lab table. 

"The final round of injections are complete." Nameless, faceless doctors, surgeons and assistants scrambling around each other as the disgustingly yellow serum was pushed through the needles and into the shuddering body on the tale. Answering to a monitor of the ones in charge. 

She'd already attempted to pass out three times. Each time the pain was ebbing she'd try desperately to pull at the black cloudy dots blurring her vision, praying to just let go and that it would all stop. Then the next round of injections would come and the pain would triple in intensity. Her entire cellular structure on fire with the lava shoved into her blood stream. Devouring what she was and making it stronger, faster, durable, deadly.

Every muscle in her body, known and unknown in her mind, had been tensed so painfully for so many long hours that they felt ready to snap beneath her skin. Nails had dug into her palm and bled so much that they had to forcibly uncurl them and wrap her palms in linens to stop the onslaught of red on the table. Not to stop injury to herself, simply to stop the blood from flowing into their workspace.

"Put her in the Soldier's cell for now. We won't be able to asses for her transformation for forty eight hours." With that the table was moved around a bit, tiny gasps of pain coming from its' occupant before a swift slap to her cheek had her quieting down. 

They unstrapped her body, instead snapping cuffs to her wrists in case she attempted escape but it was laughable. She couldn't even open her eyes, didn't even have the strength to lift a lid to peer at the monsters who'd been torturing for a solid day now. The tears had stopped hours ago, no one that heard or saw would help her anyways. 

Two men carried her by the upper arms, dragging her feet on the shining tiled floor. Her body too weak to protest or even make a sound of discomfort. They uncuffed her bruised wrists quickly. Suddenly the floor was beneath her, her right shoulder catching her fall with a painful crack and that time she did let out a pitiful cry. The slam of a heavy steel door jolted her into a curled up ball on the freezing concrete ground under her and all she wanted was to die and be released from this. She desperately wanted Bucky right now.

Someone was talking to her gently but she couldn't focus on any one thing. Her everything hurt. From her toes to her skin to the roots of her hair where they'd tugged it harshly and cut it off short with scissors. Hands were touching her again and she instinctively curled in on herself, begging for them to leave her alone.

"I'm so sorry.." That voice... Arms wrapped around her and hauled her up into a warm bare chest. A pained groan came from her lips that she couldn't quiet and the arms around her only gentled even more. 

"Please, no more needles... Please." She was nearly delirious from it all, her head rolled to the side, her cheeks pressed against too warm skin. The scent of metal, gunpowder and heady sweat ... Bucky?!

Her hands , palms still wrapped in the bloody linens , grabbed for purchase and tried to muster the strength to lift her head up. A hand cupped her jaw lightly and pulled her head around to meet the icy gaze she'd pleaded for, for hours. The tears came anew and spilled down her cheeks as they stared into one another eyes.

"I'm so sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry.." Bucky pulled her into his chest and lap more, his arms tightening around her, but mindful of how her body would be wracked with pain right now. His own tears flowing silently down his face to land in her sweat damp hair. Guilt flooding him in a tidal wave more than the amount of murders and blood on his hands over the last seventy years ever made him feel. Watching this little spitfire cry in pain was torture of a new kind for him. 

"Bucky.." He didn't hear her softest whisper of his name the first time, he kept rocking her in his lap as he held her close, his tags cold between them. "Bucky" he stilled a bit and let her pull herself back, arms shaking with the simplest effort.

"What do they.." She cleared her throat, so dry and hoarse from the day of screaming she'd done. "What do they want with us?" Her bottom lip trembled and Bucky cursed himself to hell all over again from the splits on either side of her lips. They'd struck her face at least once. The bruises appearing on either cheek. 

"They want us darlin. All of us..." He looked away as her eyes widened at the realization she wasn't the only one caught .

Her choked sob had him pulling her back to his chest and carding his fingers through her tangled hair. Shushing her as best he can but he knows what she's going though. The pain of the injections, the fear for her life, for her friends lives. The loss of hope so quick you don't even realize you've started to give up already. 

"I'll get you out of here baby, I'll get you out." He brushed his lips over her temple as she started to quite down, she had no more tears left. Mia turned quickly into a hiccuping mess of trembling limps against his bare chest. She was strong but not prepared for any of this. 

He hadn't noticed her near nakedness until now. Felt the miles of bare skin against his own chest and arms. Honestly, he couldn't even enjoy the large expanse of naked skin against him because he wasn't the one to slowly strip her suit from her skin. Those bastards had, and she was damn lucky they hadn't gone farther then her underwear. He nearly snarled at the thought of them touching her. She had to be cold. They were in a concrete cell in god knows where, most likely dozens or hundreds of feet below ground and neither of them had enough clothes together for one person. 

His eyes landed on the single cot in the corner. A metal slab with barely enough space for himself alone. Bolted to the wall and as solid as everything else around him. The mattress looked lumpy as hell and had a thin sheet, a single dingy pillow, and a somewhat thick comforter that had seen better days. It would have to do.

Carrying her over to the cot he climbed on top of it and settled , with the pillow at his back, against the wall and cradled her trembling body between his thick thighs and against his warm chest. Using his body as a sort of heating unit as he pulled the blanket around them for warmth. She was still processing and he let her. There were no words right now he could give to console her. Nothing he could say to make it better. They were in hell.

His icy gaze roamed over the dimly lit cell. If you could even call it that. The cot was bolted to the wall. The door was sealed seamlessly to the walls, no window or latch on it either. He'd heard the soft beep of a touchpad and most likely it was a thumbprint or retinal scanner as their way out. They were going to expansive lengths this time around to keep him caged. The assholes.

"Bucky.." Her voice startled him from his minds visions of how he would skin them alive and gauge out kidneys with his metal fist. 

"Yeah doll, im here." She shifted in his arms until she was sitting with her back to his chest and he could feel how icy cold her skin was. His arms came around her chest and waist and pulled her flush against him, sharing his body heat with her.

"What's gonna happen to us?" Came her whispered question that he'd prayed she wouldn't ask. He knew the answer, knew it well because he'd lived it once before. 

They wanted living weapons. People to turn into things. Things that no longer held names or emotions. To keep leashed in chains until they're set loose on enemies or innocents without a care as long as they complied. Hydra wanted attack dogs to bite and snap and claw for their twisted cause. Bucky growled and grimaced at the thought.

Hydra had got more than attacks dogs now. Bucky knew what would happen now. They'd train the other three like they had trained him. Forced him to kill without thought and without remorse, wether his victims be crying mother or cursing murderer or begging politician. It didn't matter. He was a weapon. And now they had three more.

"Bucky... Answer me please." She turned her head to look up at him with red rimmed steel and his revolve nearly broke at seeing her like this, already breaking under their torment. And it had only been a day. How could she survive here? "Please Bucky, tell me the truth."

He sighed and pulled her chin up, his flesh thumb running over her cheek and just barely ghosting over the corner of her bottom lip. "They're going to make us comply Mia. There's no way around it." Her eyes were confused and he closed his eyes and leant his forehead down to hers. "Compliance is what they want."

"They have something over our heads, each of us. You for me. Skye over Ward. Ward over Skye. All of us." He whispered to her, talking slow and softly so she took his words to heart. "They made you like me. And I can't take it back, I can't fix it. But I can help you though it." 

"Like.. Like you?" She pulled back slightly for him to nod at her solemnly. 

"Ward's going through it as well. I hope he makes it through." His arms encased her as she tried to leap from his embrace weakly. She was panicking. But she needed to hear him, accept what was going on and what mighty happen. This place wasn't for the faint of heart. "Shhhhh, it's okay."

"How did I survive?! How am I alive after that?" She croaked out, voice too raspy for it to grow much louder than a weak groan. 

"I don't know but I thank God that you did. It means you're alive. And I know it's selfish of me but I'd rather you be alive and like this then dead on that metal slab." He growled into her ear and held her tight against his chest as she weakly squirmed and finally gave in with a shuddered breath and started sobbing into his chest. 

He didn't care if it upset her. He spoke his mind and it was truth. He'd rather her have gone through that, and be alive in his arms. Then dead on the table and her body cremated and thrown into the trash where he'd never have her near him again. It was selfish. But he didn't care. She was alive and with him. It was all he could afford to hope for at the moment. 

"Bucky...." He refused to release her, refused to look into her eyes and see the hate that would surely be there for putting her and her friends through this. "Bucky I'm hot." His stilled.

She was hot, her skin that had been damn near freezing moments ago was now burning against his own with the intensity his own skin usually had. Her face was flush with the sudden heat flowing through her and the pain was starting up. Her cells were changing, recycling faster. Regenerating three times what they should be for a normal person. 

"Shit." He threw the blanket off of her and swung her down onto the padding, pinning her limbs as she started to thrash against the pain. The serum was taking over her cells in a fiery inferno to replace them over and over again. He winced at her whimpered cries of pain. Remembering his own time locked in a cage where this happened to him all those years ago. But he had been alone, she wouldn't be. Ever.

"Shhhh I got you baby. Breath Mia breath." It took her a moment but she started to breath like he instructed. It was fast and labored with the effort to take in lungfuls of air but she did it. His entire body weight nearly bearing down on her, pinning her smaller frame under him enough to keep her still underneath him. 

"Hurts... Hurts Bucky!" She gasps out and throw her head back in a scream as if a bolt of lightning just shot through her entire being through her spine. 

"Easy! Easy baby, I know... I'm so sorry." He holds her against him, a free hand stroking her hair to try and sooth her as the serum finishes its job. Changing her DNA slightly, changing her to be what they wanted her to be. What he hates to be.

He didn't know if she'd smack him later. Being so familiar with her like this when they'd only know each other a week. But she hadn't said anything yet. So he would keep showing affection while she allowed. He needed her. She was supposed to be his salvation and he was dragging her down to hell with him. Her and her closest friends. 

If he wasn't damned to hell then he was now. He was a bastard for putting her through this. He knew they'd come for him at some point. Knew that no matter how many bases they destroyed, men they killed. Hydra will always be in the shadows. Because you can't force the evil out of this world. Even God can't do that until he sees fit. 

After an hour, maybe, of her internal hell. She finally started to go lax under him. Her muscles shaking with the tension of being held tight for so long after the day she had. He leaned up on his elbows, keeping the majority of his weight off of her stomach and chest as she panted lightly, eyes closed tight. 

His eyes flickered to her sweat slicked skin, the heaving of her chest in the simple pale blue bra. Breasts swelling over the cups as she inhaled. He swallowed. Gaze flickering over every curve and dimple of her skin. Every valley and dip from her slender neck to the quivering skin of her slightly curved stomach to the bunches muscles of her thighs. To the rest of her hidden beneath his heavy hips between her thighs covered in black lines and shading of her tattoos. 

Now is NOT the time you horn dog... With a kick to his mind, and his damned super soldier libido, he stopped enjoying the view and looked back up into her eyes. Steel meeting ice in a clash of cold and heat as they stared at each other for long moments. Her breathing panned out, her body relaxing, utterly limp under him. It was done, she could never go back to plain Mia. She was pumped full of serum and ready to be every bit as dangerous as he was. 

Her hand reached between them, small knuckles ghosting over his chest and causing him to tense and jerk slightly at the small touch. She stilled before moving again and he heard the soft tinkling of his tags against the strong chain, clenched tight in her hand. 

"Why did you give me these Bucky?" Her eyes searched his, steel wavering as her gaze searched ice for an explanation. They were so new to each other still.

He didn't know really. It had felt right. They were going into battle for the first time together. He needed to give her something, something to resemble hope. Something that made her believe in him , that he would protect her. But he had failed, failed miserably. Yet she still clung to them, clasped in her smaller hand. That small hope he meant to give her was out instead in his own mind. 

Now .. Now they were a slightly different promise. He'd always come back for her. He'd always fight to find himself, (because let's face it they were going to wipe him at some point) and find her again. He needed her.

Putting on his weight on his metal arm he reached between them and clasped her hand in his. Bringing it to his lips and running them over her knuckles, cursing the bloody wraps that held her palms from his grip. He didn't have any words at the moment, they wouldn't come even if he tried. So he didn't. Instead he lent down and and sealed her lips to his, trying to convey every emotion he had for her into that kiss. 

It was soft and sweet, just a gentle brushing of lips as his hand let go of hers holding the tags. Moving to cup her chin, thumb stoking over her flushed cheek as he leaned into her. Her hand dropping the tags to timidly roam over her chest and collarbones up to his neck.

"I'm sorry sweetheart. I'm going to get you out of here, I swear to God." They could both hear the desperation in his voice. He knew what was going to happen to them. And she could only imagine in her worst nightmares.

"I trust you Bucky." He stayed silent after that. 

They stayed like that for a few more minutes then Bucky rolled off of her and instead tucked her into his side. Keeping her between the wall and him and him facing the door. As much as he'd like to keep going from where they were, he couldn't do that. Not when she was so distressed and coming off the injections. 

His fingers of his right hand gently ran over the injection sights. Raised bumps that were inflamed and red from the thick needles pushed into her body. They were healing pretty normally. But I wouldn't last. If he remembered right, it took about two days for it to effectively change his healing factor and immune system. She wasn't out of the woods just yet. But the swelling was going down some. Slowly. 

The lock on the door slid back with a grinding and the door was creaked open. Bucky easily pulling her exhausted limp form behind him as he sat up and got ready for whatever they had planned. His days of sleep filled nights were gone now. Mia didn't even wake, she was utterly out. 

"Barnes." He was thrown a plain black shirt which he caught without losing his focus on the group of armed men outside the door. "Time to test your aim." With that they moved away from the door . An unspoken command for him to follow.

He pulled the shirt on and glanced quickly back at Mia's sleeping form and turned to leave. The door locking behind him with a grind and click as he was escorted down a multitude of halls and away from her. Internally he begged God to keep her safe while he wasn't there. The stoic emotionless mask of what he truly was sliding into place. The winter soldier.


	24. Chapter 24

24

"Again!" Those words had once been a gentle command to try harder. Make herself better and push herself to try. Clint gently telling her to try again as she grabbed another arrow. Natasha coaxing her to try a ballet move one more time, even though she had the grace of a three legged horse. Skye giving her a face as she tried to bake cookies on her own. And Bucky, fixing her stance and helping her shoot better in two hours then ever before in her life. 

Now they were forceful shouts yelled into her ears. Commands. Her hands and arms long since gone numb from holding up the vast array of machine guns and handguns.

"Again!" Another shout in her ear and she nearly snarled back at the man shouting in her ear. It wouldn't do any good as she found out earlier. Hours ago? A swift kick to the gut and slap across the face left her gasping for breath and a rip in her bottom lip.

So instead she hefted the assault rifle back to her shoulder and tried desperately to calm her shaking limbs as she held and aimed the heavy weapon. Again she got only three of the five targets she was supposed to hit. Barely making the spot where she was meant to hit. 

"Can't you do anything right?!" The gun was ripped from her hands and she was on the ground. The backhand making her see stars as her hand went to cradle her cheek from the stinging flash of pain.

She may have taken the serum but she was half of what Bucky was. Half of his max strength and speed. They expected her to be a master at weapons. Who were they kidding?! Skye had more experience with these things! 

That wasn't wasn't stopping them one bit. Still they trained. Pushed and egged them on to follow orders. And Mia had a sense that they were holding back to be honest. 

"It's heavy asshole... " she growled out and instantly regretted it. She was hauled up by the black t shirt they'd given her to wear and his face was in hers.

"What was that bitch?" 

Fuck... Too late to back out now. Might as well go all in... "I said! That its heavy you asshole. I've never been good with large rifles I'm better with handguns or bows..." Shit... She didn't mean to mention that last bit...

"Bows huh? Bring one over!" He barked out the order and shoved her back away from him, making her feet stumble as she righted herself and straightened out her now stretched shirt. 

She took the compound bow from the man offering it with a growl, ripping it out of his hands as she slung the copse of arrows over her shoulder. Clint had taught her how to shoot, sure. But she wasn't anywhere near his amazing aim. He was called hawkeye for a damn reason you know? 

Sighing softly she nocked an arrow, found her center and released at the foam target a good thirty years away. The black arrow smacked into the targets center almost dead on the mark. A little the left but still a kill shot to the ones watching her. Already remaking her training program by what they were seeing. 

She kept going until every single arrow was gone and bedded into the target. Halfway through they'd given her a different spot to aim for and easy enough for her to change her aim and hit it within the first two test shots. Hawkeye's baby cousin she was apparently. 

Arms feeling like rubber, heavy and muscles tensing. The inside of her forearm bruised from the slap of the string. Hitting the soft flesh because she was just too tired to straighten her arm out for every shot. Her hair was tangled and tucked behind her ears from the quick shower they'd put her and Skye in that morning. Legs shaky from standing on her feet all day without a single break. She wasn't used to this short of movement all day. It was going be hard for her to adjust, but she was going to adjust by their rules it seems. Like everything else.

"That's enough for today. The girl is tired. Send her back to her room for the night." The voice of Shmidt came over the speakers and she dropped her stance in exhaustion. Throwing the bow down on the table by the assault rifle they'd abandoned an hour earlier. Not caring where it landed as she was grabbed by the upper arm and dragged down a seemingly endless maze of halls and doors and labs. She'd long since given up trying to find the path.

With a final shove she's pushed into her and Bucky's cell and she wheels just in time to bare her teeth angrily at the last of them as the door seals tight to the wall. With a scowl she turns to the cot and slumps down on it. If Bucky had been there he'd already have her in his arms. And now that he wasn't she was worrying immensely. Her hands playing with the heavy steel tags around her neck.

They kept him training for far longer than they did her. Gone in the early mornings and not back until hours after she'd gotten her dinner of protein bars and water. Would it kill them for some fruit?! He would come back dirty, bloodied and exhausted but still alive and still him. But she was scared. Scared one day he'd come back and wouldn't be him anymore. Or that he wouldn't come back at all.

Before her thoughts could go any further into the dark, the sealed door slid open and Bucky walked inside. Because even if they pushed him in, it would take three of them to actually make him move. So they usually just let him walk in and wait until the door was half closed and then say rude and degrading things about him or Mia. Causing him to whirl and slam his metal fist into the now sealed door with a snarl.

"Hey... It's okay.." She whispered to him. Walking over and slipping her hands over his corded back and shoulder blades. The tension leaving his body slightly at her touch. 

"No it's not. It's not okay that you're here in this shithole with me..." He growled and slammed his fist into the door again. Earning a sharp growl from his throat as his left hand simply bounced off the door. 

She didn't have a response because no it wasn't okay that any of them were here. It was a hellhole and each one of them were being put through the ringer everyday and given less and less time to rest it seemed. But they were together and none of them wiped. Yet.

Bucky turned and pulled her into his arms. Flush against him from hip to shoulder. Well hip to hip and shoulder to chest. She hasn't grown any taller with the serum and Bucky thought that odd. Because Steve had grown nearly a foot or more when he went through the transformation. Among other things he constantly worried over.

But holding her felt like the weight on his shoulders was lifted slightly. She was still here with him. Still herself. Still unfrozen. Because that's what they promised every time he thought about busting her out of this place. They'd freeze him and wipe her. And he could not put her though the nightmare that was your entire body freezing like a warm steak into a solid chunk of nothing in seconds flat.

"Hey... I'm here.." She whispers up at him and he opens his eyes. Leaning down for ice to meet steel and he touches his forehead to hers gently. Taking her in. The way she feels pressed against him. The shortness of her form. The way her curves melted to his own. The sharpness of her eyes. All of it.

"It's been a month now Mia. I doubt Steve even knows where we are..." He whispers softly to her and he can feel how she wilts at his words. She's so scared and she's hiding it well.

"They'll find us Bucky..they will." Her voice small.

"No, Mia. They won't. I know they won't." His voice rasped as he took her hand and sat them both down on the edge of the metal cot. 

"I know where we are and no one outside of hydra's elite know about this place...." Reaching over he touched his hand over her collarbone where the gleam of his dog tags glittered around her neck. He's amazed their letting her keep them. It didn't sit well with him.

"Bucky? Where are we?" Her eyes widened slightly and he marveled at how they were still bright and full of life and hope after a month here.

"We're in Siberia. Under a mountain with one door in and out. I know because this is where I've been kept since my training was completed in the fifties...." His hands scrubbed over his ace, metal palm fisting as he glared at the appendage. 

"What are you staying Bucky?" 

With a deep sigh he continued to stare at his metal hand. The just barely there clicks and whirls as it moved for him. "Unless they know where to look, we're gonna be here a long while baby...." 

He couldn't look at her. Couldn't face they way her face would scrunch up with distaste and then the way her steely blues would grow glassy and tears would threaten to spill down her cheeks in hopelessness. He just couldn't stand it. 

He felt pressure on his left hand, gentle fingers prying open the fist he had made and clenched. Loosening metal fingers so she could hold it in both her smaller hands. Pale skin, paler now from lack of sunlight, contrasted to the always shining gleam of the plates. 

"We'll be okay...."

"No we won't. You won't." He seethed and gripped her hand in his own flesh and blood hand. Worried he'd crush her fingers in the other. 

"Yes I will. I'm a tough cookie Bucky. I can do this.... If it means you and my friends are safe..." Did she even understand what they were training her for? They want assassins, killers. Monsters.

"Don't you get it?! None of us are safe! Ward's too good for grunt work. They'll put him up with me on missions. You and Skye will most likely be paired together for espionage and intel... I just.." He stood abruptly and starting pacing the small cell. Back and forth while Mia sat and watched him, unsure how to comfort him.

"Not to mention their going to put us all under at some point. Wipe us too.... Once all the training done with for you three." He kept going slowly.

Who was she kidding? It was getting harder everyday now. Longer hours training. More weapons being learnt. Skills she didn't even know existed pushed into her mind and made to do over and over until she got them perfect. They were given maybe six hours of sleep a night and it was slowly becoming less than that. 

She and Skye were put through the ringer in intensive hand to hand combat that Skye was much better at then herself. But still they pushed. Still they screamed orders. It was becoming second nature already to simply listen instead of receiving the slaps or kicks if they didn't comply. The bruises healing quickly but the look on Bucky's face when he sees them. It's enough for Mia to grit her teeth and try again. 

"I'm gonna get you out of here if it's the last thing I do. I swear to god..." He growled out into the wall, metal and flesh fists slamming into the thick concrete as his forehead cooled on the icy wall. 

"I'll be fine. Long as I'm with you..." Hands wound around his sides and she hugged him from behind. Her arms winding around him just under his ribs and his right hand came down to gently stroke over her wrist. The right side of her face nuzzling into his back.

"I don't know how long they'll let me near you doll... Once they see us even remotely comfortable they take everything away again. Everything." His hand gently pulled her around so she was between him and the wall and he wrapped his arms around her.

"But for now I'm with you and I'm safe.. I'm always a safe with you Bucky."

"Yeah babydoll... you're safe with me." Really she shouldn't be. All it would take is a few certain words in the right context and he'd be gone inside his own mind. But she knew that, he'd told her. She didn't seem to care one bit. She stayed silent and he was thankful. 

Later, as the ceiling lights were flipped off to signal it was time for them to rest. He held her close to him. Between himself and the wall, on the cot. Barely dozing to conserve energy but to make sure nothing happened to her in her sleep. He was used to it. The long periods of stillness where he couldn't rest fully. It was so ingrained into him it was second nature. 

He stared at the ceiling as if forcing it to bend to his will somehow and let Steve know where they were. It would take an army to clear out this place. Filled to the brim with hydra agents and all of them lethal in their own right. He could go up against a dozen and take them down. But four dozen? A hundred? Two hundred? Bucky was sorely outnumbered , not in strength or skill but in vast numbers. 

"Steve... You gotta find is.... You gotta..." He whispered into the darkness and held Mia. A little closer to his side, lightly tracing his lips over her temple before falling into a half dozing sleep. Staying that way until the lights were flipped on and they were dragged down opposite halls for more training. 

\----

Ward watched Skye sleep beside him on the cold metal cot. The thin mattress and dingy blanket not even enough to push off the chill most nights. But he kept her close to him, sharing body heat and waiting for the next day to start over.

She was exhausted beyond anything he's ever seen her. Cheeks sunken in slightly and she's lost some weight. Her once healthy curves were becoming thinner. Hip bones pronounced and collarbones jutting out. He was enraged. 

They were forcing her to hone her powers through commands and brutality. But she couldn't improve that way, not very far at least. She needed time and understanding and support. All she was receiving were stinging slaps whenever she didn't perform to their wishes. 

He was fairing better but only because he had training for long bouts of interrogations and imprisonment. This he could handle... For awhile. But she could txt he could see her resolve crumbling with every passing day. He hated it.

He'd seen a glimpse at her and Mia being thrown at more experienced fighters. How both of them had started to fight tooth and nail to win and he was proud of them for a moment. Then he remembered that they wanted all of them to be good fighters. To fight dirty and get the job done no matter what they had to do.

He flexed his right wrist slowly, watched as the newly bulked muscles would bunch up and flow with his movements. He'd always been a bit light for his frame but he always made up for it in speed and agility. Now he was heavier and having to relearn his movements and personal style simply to keep up with the training they were being out through. 

Skye shifted in her sleep and Ward moved her closer up against him. Shushing her until she fell back asleep. She needed rest, they all did. And everyday that they improved. Everyday that the three of them got better. Was another day closer to the inevitable. Getting wiped.

\----

The table in the conference room was nearly overflowing with hydra records and data collected over the years. Files spilled out and maps were created of possible hideouts, bolt holes, and compounds. 

Tired, cranky, hungry.... They were all on their wits end by this point and it's been two months now nearly to the day. Steve was a wreck and barely spoke unless he was in a shouting match with Tony. Coulson's team were doing their own research back at the playground. Sam and Rhodey tried to keep the peace but failed nearly every time. 

Clint and Natasha became silent forces to not be reckoned with. Both of them pouring over files and maps and leads. Not sleeping, barely eating. Both of their faces set into a solid mask of rage as the days wore on and bases were destroyed without a single shred of evidence to point them in the right direction. They refused to give up. This was Mia. Their little cousin whom they loved with everything the spies had. 

"We'll find them..." Coulson whispered over a conference call. His face smudged and cut above the eyebrow from another Intel mission at another base in god knows where. 

Clint didn't respond right away, he rubbed a hand over his chin, eyes scanning the documents that had already been decrypted. Nothing. Nothing even close to the soldier or asset or anything. Nothing. "Keep looking... And thanks Phil." The older man nodded solemnly and the call ended, screen going black.

Tony had the best AI on the planet. And still was having trouble getting into all the files that were piling up. Somewhere in all that data there had to be something. A whisper. A word. Anything! His first slammed into the table and it shook, a few papers sliding further out of the their folders. 

"Siberia." A voice snapped Clint out of his internal self hate for the moment and raised an eyebrow. Natasha hadn't seen him this messed up since he had been under Loki's control years before. 

"What?" He turned as Natasha came in, slapping a weathered red notebook onto the table. A black star emblazoned on its worn front. "What is this?" 

"That boys... Is the Winter Soldier's training and trigger word manual..." Steve jumped over and grabbed the book. Flipping it open and digesting as much as he could by scanning over the pages. His face going into paled shock.

"Good lord....electroshock ? Experimental surgery to see how he'd heal? Drugs that work on him?" Steve's knees buckled and he was lucky enough to be close enough to a chair to land in as he grasped what the book was telling him. 

"Look toward the back Roger's... It's the only set of coordinates in the entire book." Natasha spoke as her hands opened a new map and she put the numbers in , finding a mountain and nothing else. 

"Siberia..." Clint came forward and widened the zoom. Still not finding anything that would tell them if there was a base there. "Get stark up in the air to do a thermal scan.... " this could be it.

Steve was lost in the book. A small series of words seemed to be what made Bucky instantly go into winter soldier. And made him passive as they prepped for missions. "Jesus.." There was a list of different serums they'd tried to use on him too. All of them nearly killing him and once when his heart actually stopped. The amount of training he'd went through. The repercussions were logged like a time table whenever he lashed out or refused an order. They were often, and they weren't pretty. 

"And my guess is their putting either Ward or Mia through it... Skye already has her powers and the serum wouldn't react to her abilities..." Nat said softly as she swiped the book from Steve's trembling hands before the spine gave out and his strength ruined the only evidence they had.

"We'll find her..." Clint took the book from his best friend and gave her upper arm a squeeze. "How'd you find this anyways?" 

"Trust me, you don't wanna know..." He didn't ask, didn't care.

"So Siberia...."

"Siberia..."


	25. Chapter 25

25

Six months. Twenty four weeks. One hundred sixty eight days. Four thousand and thirty two hours. Caged. Trained. Pushed to the breaking point and then pushed some more. Six months in hell for our poor tortured souls.

Bucky was put through the ringer at first. Testing him on all skill sets he had bred into his mind and body. And when he passed those he was taught more. Languages he hadn't fully grasped yet now fluently rolling off his tongue. New weapons dismantled and then put back together in record time. He didn't need much more. He was the best from the original program and they knew that. But why keep a dog still and placated in his cage with his mate when you can make it better, stronger, faster, more obedient.

With the serum coursing through her veins only half at the max strength of Bucky. Mia was pushed the hardest in her training. Hand to hand combat for six hours a day became boxing. Boxing for another tree hours became long hours and days spent shooting arrow after arrow into foam targets. And foam targets became moving targets. Moving targets into live targets. Over and over until she had to bite her tongue and force tears back as she killed man after man with her newfound skills. They traded her recurve for miniature crossbows on her wrists. Now she can't seem to bring the tears as she kills nameless faceless men for practice.

Keeping his silence the entire time. Ward took on hand to hand training against Bucky himself. Taking the beatings and getting stronger every day until they were almost evenly matched. Almost. Where Ward knew mixed martial arts. Bucky could take him down with sheer strength and agility. It didn't matter. He was usable and they'd squeeze everything they could from him. He was good at hiding, at holding back emotions. Good at showing he wasn't hurt when all his ribs are broken. At a third of the original serums strength he was a good opponent. For awhile. They didn't mean to give Mia most of the remaining serum. But things sometimes work out don't they?

Skye? Jesus. Skye slaughtered her own father in her fear that first day. And they sat her down and made her watch that tape over and over. They got in her head. Skye who was snarky and smart and had a heart of gold was cold as ice now. Her powers honed for one use and one use only. To kill. To throw a team of grown men off with a wave of her hand. To grasp the vibrations of the heart and to crush it on its own chest in a split second. She cried every time yet she still dropped men like flies. 

Within six months three more soldiers were added to the program. Where there were six now there were four. But they were better. Collared and muzzled and leashed. Sure they fought back. Who wouldn't. But what was the point anymore? When they were already separated. Already torn from each other and made to spar with another until both were bloody and unconscious. Why fight when compliance is rewarded. 

It wasn't hard you know. Finding them. Taking them. Training them to fit the molds waiting for the ultimate set of living weapons. Wiping their minds. Not hard, not really. One by one they followed like obedient dogs for their next training session. Overpowered by dozens of hands and arms then straps and bonds. One by one they went. 

The soldier went first. It was easy enough. The chair was in view and he simply hung his head and sat down. Took the mouth guard when offered and closed his eyes to the blinding, spirit and soul crunching pain of the wipe machine. The thing with the mind wipe is this. It's such an intense pain. Something you feel down to your very soul. It eats you alive like a hundred ravenous wolves given one lone slab of meat after months of nothing. It destroys you inside and out. And there's no getting used to it. Ever. Know why? Because you can't remember it. And afterwords. The words are spoken in a certain order. Then he's put under ice. 

The next was Ward. Who fought bravely but was vastly outnumbered and taken down within a few moments. Again like with the soldier, his strength was his strongest ally until his opponents outnumbered him. He tried the silence. It didn't last long. His screams only just muffled by the mouth guard. Echoing in the cavernous iron and steel room. The pain gone. The words said. The ice forming around him. 

Skye after that. Her smaller frame pushed into the chair with no problem. Straps holding her thin body down as tears flowed down sunken cheeks. Hair cropped short and falling in tangled waves as the machine lit up. Sparks flying behind her and around the doctors . 

Here's the thing. That chair? That machine? It's set for a male body, roughly two hundred to two hundred and fifty pounds of solid muscle. Skye is a thin framed, petite girl who barely hits one hundred and six pounds soaking wet. So it has to recalibrate for her size. Otherwise they'd fry her brain too much and she would be useless to them. That wouldn't do. Skye faints near the end. Has to be woken up by hits to the stomach and face. The words uttered. Eyes glassed over as the frost creeps around her in a moment and she's solid.

One more to go. The little blonde hellion that could now throw a three hundred pound man off her with little effort. The one who is currently fighting tooth and nail. Already bloodied from a split lip, broken nose and cut over her left eye. A trail of unconscious men in the hall. She wasn't going down without one last fight. And they all knew it. 

So instead of taking her to the chair. They dragged her to the three cylinders in the back of the room.not the empty, sickly yellow monsters on either side of the chairs. Smaller, portable version along the back wall. A single one empty. 

One of them wiping the frost from the first one showing the iced over vision of the soldier strapped in and solid as a glacier. One glance and her struggles stopped, tears falling like diamonds down her cheeks as she silently sobbed at the sight. 

"You see little soldier. You're protecter has already complied. Ready for work to be done." Shmidt's voice spoke cruelly in her ear as she trembled in the mass of hands holding her still. 

He watched as plans rolled through her mind. Her eyes looking anywhere but the face of her lover under ice. Until she stopped. Still like death in their hands and they waited. And waited. She didn't react. She slumped into the grip on her person and let out a long sigh. Her eyes shining like steel moved to give one more glance at Bucky. One more tear falling down. 

Shmidt smirked as her gaze turned to his own. The steel fading in front of him like someone turning down the dimmer switch to a light. And he had her. She was moved to the chair without a fight. Strapped in. Mouth guard held but not offered yet. He bent over to look her straight in the eye.

"Are you going to be a good little dog now? My little soldier?" 

"Le...." She took a soft breath. "Let me keep the tags, please.." Her voice soft and pleading, desperate. 

"Oh! I almost forgot. Thank you." He reached to her thin shirt, ignoring her gasp of surprise. Grasped the chain holding the tags and yanked. The chain bit into her skin but it healed quickly. The tags she'd worn for six months dangling there in front of her like candy. 

"No please! Just let me keep them!" She pulled on the bonds, barely moving at all in the tight straps. They were made for the soldier. Even she couldn't get out of that chair. 

"I can't do that my little soldier. Now be a good dog, hmm?" The mouth guard is shoved past her lips. The headgear slapped onto her temple and the whirring of the machine started up. Signaling her last few moments of lucidity before she loses everything.

The screaming starts. Reverberating off the walls like a cruel symphony of torture to those stationed in the room. Sick sneers of joy slip into usually stoic faces as her eyes roll back. Back arching, fingers clenching and cracking. Knuckles pale and white in their grip.

Every memory gone. Every good feeling. Every single bad thing. All the Christmases with Nat and Clint. The few good memories of her brother before he found out drugs were more important than watching his baby sister. Every laugh shared with Skye and Ward. The flutters she felt whenever Bucky would look at her with those deep icy blues. The feeling of calmness when watching the sunset. The long afternoons spent grooming her horse. The weeks of hard work and pride of restoring her car. Gone. Everything.

All that's left is the soldier. The attack dog. Her training in tact. Muscle memory and instinct, following orders. The only things that matter now. The head gear is gone, mouth guard spat out. Chest heaving with the struggle to breath. All is silent but one person as he circles her chair. Little white leather bound journal in hand. 

"Wishful"

Her breathing wasn't slowing and she watched with wary and pain filled eyes at the stranger. 

"Mare"

Something was making her still her trembling limbs. The words calming her.

"Ninety-two" 

The pain was slowly ebbing but not fast enough. A whimper escaped her split lips.

"Dawn."

The voice didn't stop. It's so cold. Have to... Have to listen and find out what's going on...

"Field"

It's getting harder to focus on anything but that voice. Can't even think through the pain. Why does it hurt?

"Nine"

That's.... Where this is. This is ... Where I get my orders...why won't the voice stop! God I hurt so much! Make it stop...

"Benign"

That's my handler.... I have... Listen to my handler... 

"Homecoming"

This is... Home.... This is where I live...

"Two"

That's my.... I'm second... Who's first?? Are there others??

"Farmhouse"

... Her mind went blank. Back sitting straighter. Eyes focused on Shmidt as he closed the little white leather journal and met her disturbing, unblinking gaze. 

It's not hard you see. When you've done it for so long on a subject. You find out the tricks to make that first wipe work quite effectively. So much so that now, with this modified version. It would take years to get their thoughts and memories unscrambled. It was perfect.

"Soldier?" They all waited with baited breath for what came next. Though to no surprise what spilled from her now healed lips.

"Ready to comply." In flawless Russian as if she'd been speaking it her entire life. Just as planned 

Shmidt have a wickedly triumphant smirk. He would have made his father proud. His life's work now even better than what his father could have ever done. And these four dogs were his to command. Pierce was too sloppy. Shmidt was not.

"Do you know your name soldier."

"No."

"I will give you a name then. Respond to it well. You are Southern Conquest. You are one of my soldiers."

She didn't respond, waited for orders to even make a move with her dull blue gaze. Shmidt motioned her up and out of the chair as they let her loose. No longer worried if she would fight back. 

"Come Conquest, you need a debrief on your next mission...." And she followed her handler without a thought.


	26. Chapter 26

26 

Clint was done. Absolutely done. With everything. Tony had found mass readings of thermal energy in a peak of the mountains. The entire team, half of the reformed shield, and any allies they could scrounge up were there to help. Headed to the mountains and nothing.

They found nothing. No files. No people. Nothing. They'd been too late. Merely hours too late from the way the heat was seeping from the underground tunnels and labs. They'd searched the entire place for days. And still nothing.

A set of four cells deep underground in the lowest levels. Doors made to seal up tight. Bare cages with barely a slab to call a bed. Thin sheet rumpled and dingy. Each cage with the signs of struggle and anger towards the cement walls. One scattered in dents shaped strangely like knuckles. 

Simmons found hair samples and the matches in the system. Her small frame breaking into sobs as the faces of her friends came on the screen of the shield dna database. Coulson gripping her small shoulder as she shuddered.

No sign of anyone. Steve walked through the corridors in an angered trance. Stumbling upon the cavernous room with the machine that destroyed his best friend and now the innocence of youth. Before he knew it his shield had clattered to the ground and the chair was left a sparking heap. Nothing more than wires and chair and bent metal now. It didn't matter. They were all gone. Bucky was gone. 

The yellow orange chambers were shattered next. Patriotic shield used to destroy them as his team watched from the jarred open doorway. They couldn't say anything to console him. What was there to say? What could be uttered to make any of them feel any better? Nothing at this point. 

Once the chambers were nothing but glass and wires and rubble Steve finally stopped. Chest heaving with anguish and rage as he dropped to his knees and stares at the middle of the room. He saw nothing in front of him but the blind anger seeping from his body. A soft clicking dragging him from his state as a small computer screen opened up and flashed awake.

"Cap.." Natasha stepped forward, her hand lightly ghosting over Steve's shoulder as she walked to the small screen, Clint and Coulson flanking her as Steve brought up the rear, watching from over their shoulders. 

The screen is wavering slightly. Like static crossing over it from an old tv station with an antenna. The hydra symbol bright red against the black inky background before its' vanished and the videos start. 

"Good evening avengers, shield." The voice crackles over the speakers, slightly distorted like it's being said from an old radio station. "So you've found our facility. I assure you only the best leave this place." 

The screen cut to them first being brought in. Instantly the four of them separated and shoved down different halls. Four screens spilt. Mia with needles pushed into her tanned skin. Skye shoved into a dark cell. Ward and Bucky strapped to chairs. All of them still very unconscious until one by one a shot is given and they start to wake. Clint's hand turned into fists and shake at his sides. 

It cuts again to training. The beatings when orders weren't followed. Again and again they were thrown down and simply got back up. Again it cuts to further down the line. Mia and Skye now sparring with each other. Bucky throwing Ward down to the ground with a metal hand. 

Steve's eyes widen as he watches. Pushing a curious Fitz and Simmons back behind his broad back so they can't see how bloody and downright cruel the girls were forced to be to each other. Bucky even taking on Mia and showing her take down moves that had been used on himself at the hellicarriers. 

"Did you really think you could save them? Any of them?" The voice came through again and the screen went to one frame. The overhead camera for the chair that Steve had just demolished with his shield. One by one all four of them falling into the chair with exhaustion. Not even Bucky fighting as he went first. Steve's hand curled into a fist and his limbs were shaking with rage.

All except for Mia. Who fought her way though a half dozen men before her face was slammed against the glass of Bucky's icy coffin. They all watched as her shoulders shuddered and she simply gave up, limp in the arms holding her and she was strapped in. A man reaching into her shirt and ripping a necklace from her neck. She fought anew but it was useless. 

Natasha's eyes were wet with unshed tears, breaking through her final steel plated wall as she watched Mia scream and scream and scream and finally go silent. The sound came on the video. Mia's voice, raspy from screaming, breath heavy from trying to even her heartbeat.

"gotovy soblyudat'" and she was released. Simply walking off screen with a purpose to her steps, faded steel gaze unblinking and hands ready at her sides for orders. 

The screen went black and with nothing more coming from it Clint reared back and stabbed the screen with a blade from his thigh. Glass shattering and sparks flying gently from the busted screen. His own breathing ragged . Natasha turning her face away as the tears fell down her paled cheeks. Clint wrapping his arms around his best friend and they both slumped to the ground in a heap of sobs. They'd failed. They couldn't keep her safe. 

Steve walked back, out of the room and compound. No one stopped him, no one even looked at him more then a moment. Their gazes widening and feet scurrying off at light speeds to get out of his strong stride and murderous eyes. Once outside he rounded the frigid entrance and made his way to the jet. But instead found a space of rocks just beside it, his heavy body slumping down to sit and catch his face in his hands. 

How could he have messed up this badly? How could he not protect the ones he loved? The flash of Bucky in the mind wipe chair brought tears to his eyes as the cold sank into his bones from the Siberian winter whirling around him. He didn't even care. And Mia..... God damnit! His fist collided with the rock by his right hip, crunching some of it to powder and gravel. 

He'd let innocents get caught up in this fight. Granted, Skye and Ward were already a part of shield and had accepted the fact that one day they could be captured by hydra but... Jesus. Mia thrashing in that chair and her screams... They were going to haunt Steve in his dreams for years now. There was no getting that image from his mind. The sound of her uttering words of compliance and walking off camera. 

His fist collided with the rock again. He welcomed the pain of the rock shards in his knuckles. He deserved so much more for putting those poor kids through all of this hell. It took them too long to find this place. Six months was enough time for hydra to destroy three more people and brainwash them to their side. Torture them, Jesus. 

Sam came up then. Standing to Steve's right and crossing him arms as much as he can in the thick layers on his body. His chocolate orbs searching the swirling white wasteland in front of them. Silently giving support to a man who was just about jumping off the edge of his sanity. There wasn't much more Sam could do at the moment. 

He would help Steve, help all of them, to get Bucky and those kids back. Leaving them out there. To be used. To be abused. To kill for others too cowardly to do it on their own. Blood dripping from their hands and mindless to even know it's wrong. He'd seen Bucky come back to himself. Working though the mountain of guilt on his shoulders and still falling from the weight of it a year later. Those other three, Sam didn't know if they could live through the guilt of it. 

So he'd help Steve find these guys. Kill anyone in their way because this isn't right. This goes against any morals or compassion the human soul is given at birth. Sickening the war veteran to the point he wanted to hurl then and there. His hand gripped Steve's shoulder after another long moment, squeezing to tell him everything words can't express.

Piled into the jet. Everyone only uttering small words to tell the pilot they were buckled in. Otherwise there was a heavy silence over the mix matched group. Demigod, soldiers, spies, agents, scientists and friends. All of them with heavy hearts as they headed back to the states. Everyone giving Coulson, Natasha, Clint and Steve a wide birth. Not wanting to even upset the ones who looked ready to rip apart the earth. 

There was no way to find the group now. Long gone and vanished without a trace like always. Leaving the ones whose lives were chosen to protect the world, left in the dust and clueless as to go forward from here. A feeling none of them wanted.

Clint slumped into his seat on the jet. Natasha's hands clasped tightly around his right bicep and she clung to him. Her vulnerability shocked him so much because she was the Black Widow. She didn't show emotion even at the worst of times. Then again, this was the worst possible thing to ever happen. Her nails dig into the skin of his covered arm, the thin sweater nothing to her as she clung to him. 

They had each other right now. And that was all they had really over the years they'd worked like this. The had each other when shit hit the fan. And they knew Mia was safe at the farm. And they kept going with that knowledge. Now they were terrified. She was found. Taken. Her mind stolen with a few moments. It was enough for the both of them to want to lash out and go Awol. They were almost tempted. 

\------

She waited with crossed arms inside the large office. The tropical breeze flowing inside and billowing the thin sheer curtains did nothing for her. She leaned her shoulders gently against the wall, doors and window in sight. Bare arms crossed to showcase the musculature under pale skin. Faded blue eyes taking in everything of her surroundings and making the men around the conference table unsettled by her presence in the back of the room. 

She was armed to the teeth. Pistols on both hips, a long thick blade on each thigh, another in her boots and more set in the straps at her calves. Her wrists holding the custom made mini crossbows, ready to be popped out of their containments and let loose small arrows. Her arms crossed wouldn't slow her movements to reach or let loose any of the weapons on her person. But it wasn't the weapons in reach, that was unsettling the men around the table. It was the familiar muzzle like mask strapped tight to her face and chin. It left her eyes visible and her lower face hidden. Unable to tell any sort of emotion or expression from her. 

"Gentlemen, if you're through gawking at the asset can we continue?" Smhidt's voice cut through them all and they turned back to him. 

"It's eerie, the way she stares..... Like the soldier."

"Yes that's the goal. But she's better. They all are now thanks to my genius." He continued haughtily as if it was simple. The meeting got back under way and plans were made. Positions appointed and agents moved as shield tried to find their hideouts. 

The asset continued to watch the room, eyes flickering to any movement in her peripherals. She didn't move otherwise. Still as a statue and her hair barely even making an effort to move with the soft breeze moving into the room. 

When Smhidt rose from his seat, plans finished. She moved from her spot like a serpent striking, instantly at his side and waiting for further orders as she followed him out of the office and down the hall. Steps soft and silent in her boots as another taller and broader shadow flanked Smhidt to his left beside her. The assets a dark force behind him and he enjoys every second of it as agents and lower grunts scrambled out of his way as they caught sight of the trio. 

Slipping into the helicopter and taking off. He handed them both a picture and the coordinates for their next target. Both of them admitting the photo to memory easily and nodding to the handler. 

A while up in the air Smhidt glanced back at the blond to his right. Arms crossed and watching front and forward, still and silent and muzzled. And he filled with triumph at the sight of her and the soldier both in mirrored positions at his sides. How these two had fought with every cell of their bodies until their minds were forced and betrayed. Oh how he loved to watch the emptiness in their eyes as they killed. And the fact they didn't even know the love they'd had for each other. It was gratifying. 

The tags he'd ripped from her were hidden. Ready for the avengers to find soon enough on a false trail the other two assets had left for them. Taunting the avengers was going to become his favorite thing in the years to come.


	27. Chapter 27

27

The halls of the small town courthouse were silent in the somehow bright cheery sunlight. Warm yellow orange rays coating everything in a soft yet clear glow of the midday sun. A set of footsteps, easy and light, even though covered in heavy boots, were soundless to everything but the trained ear. 

A thump, a soft pained groan, a gasp from a watcher as another local policeman was downed. A short black arrow embedded between his eyes. Dark, inky black fletchings glinting in the sunlight. Her arm dropped back down as she stalked through the courthouse. 

All the exits were barred, all the windows sealed shut. Anyone that escaped would be punishment for her. This was her first solo mission. Kill any form of authority. Anyone with a badge or who tried to stop her. 'These people aren't with us and must be taken out', Smhidt had spoke to her in his commanding tone. She obeyed without question.

Another one came at her, shaking in his dark navy uniform. Badge glinting on his chest, patches on his biceps and taser on his belt. Gun held shakily in his hands as he aimed to shoot. He was a rookie, just a few weeks on the job. His body fell with a heavy thud and his eyes faded. Gun clattering to the floor, the sound echoing off the halls loudly. Crimson pooling from his throat as the arrow pierced straight through his jugular and neck, severing the spinal cord from his spine. 

Her eyes darted around once more, none came after her now. The few left holding up their hands and sliding their weapons across the floor to her feet like following an unspoken command. 

"The building's secure." Her stoic voice slightly muffled from the muzzle like mask on her face, spoke into the com device in her ear and she kicked the weapons away. Even going so far as to pick up her heel and slam her boot down on a taser to demolish the device. Tiny shards and chunks of the technology inside scattered from her boot.

She moved back as Winter and her handler came into the building. Hands ready to shoot again at her sides , gaze flickering to her handler then to the group of men still cowering in the corner of the courtroom. She thought them pathetic, they way they were frightened of her. 

Her faded eyes flickered to the soldier for a moment. Taking in his form with a critical strategists mind. Broad shoulders, tapered and lean hips. Thick, muscled thighs. The metal plates of his arm shifting and whirring gently as he hefted up the semi assault rifle in his arms. 

His entire presence oozed danger. Catching sight of him should make any sane mind run for their lives and never look back. Dark hair framing his face, half hiding his grey gaze from sight. The identical black muzzle strapped to his own chin and mouth, just like hers.

They were dangerous. They were deadly. Their handler kept them from those who didn't need to be taken out and let them loose on those who did. Hydra took care of them, kept them strong , kept them in line. They had to be perfect soldiers or they weren't worth anything. They were needed for this war.

Her gaze met his for a brief moment and the electricity coursing through that locked look could signal a lightning storm. They both watched the other momentarily. She knew he was stronger than her by far. Her only upper hand would be her smaller body and her long range attacks with the crossbows. It wouldn't stop him. And they both knew it. But that's why they worked so well tougher. There was a dynamic that couldn't be forced into a pair of assassins. Something that couldn't be explained but it worked. 

So he simply looked away, eyes flickering to the handler as Shmidt ordered him to shoot the remaining hostages. 'No one needs to spread the word of you, yet my soldiers'. And they left. Bodies strewn down halls and hidden behind desks. Blood pooling in the sunny daylight. Mocking the bloodshed with its cheery rays. 

Winter hoisted her up into the chopper by her hips, if his hands lingered for a half second too long neither made any sort of indication it had happened. They ignored it. All of it. All of the long glances. The silent stares. The lingering touches in the only ways possible just like then. They didn't go out of their way, no. But it was some form of instinct in them. 

Her gaze stared straight forward as Winter lifted the machine into the air and they took off. Yellow hair glinting a range of oranges and gold in the sunlight. And if his pale grey eyes flickered to her more then once , Shmidt never noticed.

Hours later both Conquest and Winter are ordered into basic cells and left alone with a power bar and a bottle of water, nothing else. It was most they'd had in days. But they were trained to live off the lesser side of surviving. To not let it effect them or their minds for the upcoming missions. To work for the greater good.

\---

 

"I think I found something Steve." Natasha spoke as she strolled into his apartment in Brooklyn. 

It's been eight months since they found the compound in Siberia. Twelve months nearly to the day that the safe house had been ransacked and attacked, with four of their own taken. It's been hell for all of them.

Steve, Natasha and Clint were running themselves into the ground. They couldn't sleep, rarely ate, and hardly spoke unless to speak about a lead. The spies basically moved into Steve's spacious apparent, they didn't sleep much anyways. Converting the one spare room into a make shift room for the two spies. Bucky's room was untouched, and none of them argued Steve about it. 

Poor Sam wasn't much use on the tracking side of things this time around. He was far too preoccupied keeping food in the house. Making sure the three at least tried to sleep and putting food in front of them whenever he could make them stop for more than a few minutes. 

"What did you find?" Steve asked and stood from the lazy boy he had been napping in. 

Well, trying to nap. A few moments after dozing off a nightmare had brought him awake and he'd simply been laying still to appease Sam. He hadn't slept more than a couple hours in weeks now and it was showing. His usually coif hair than shone like golden sunshine was lack luster and almost had a greasy tint to it no matter how much he washed it. His face was pale and eyes sunken in from lack of sleep. And if he had lost some weight, he wouldn't know. 

"A mass murder in a local courthouse. Small town just south of L.A." Natasha slapped a small stack of photos and a news report onto the coffee table. Her now free hand politely taking the apple Sam offered her and took a bite, appeasing the vet. And her severely undernourished stomach.

Looking through the photos Clint's and Steve's eyes furrowed at the bloodshed they found. But what caught their attention was the way the majority of the policemen had died. Short arrows bedded into their necks, hearts and between the eyes with accuracy only Hawkeye could manage. 

"You think it's them?" Steve asked.

"I think it could be one of them or maybe a pair. A mock mission maybe? To test the wipes?" Natasha shrugged, her voice tired. 

"This is Mia... She's the only one with any former training with a bow.." Clint whispered and Natasha reached out. Her arms circling his ribs as she held him, struggling to keep them both from shattering to pieces. 

"Ask Coulson for a small jet." Steve stood, dropping the blood filled photos back onto the table. A few flipping backwards on the way down and falling upside down yo hide the red. "We leave in two hours." 

\---

They found a couple half boot prints in the blood left over. But they were from nurses and the emt's that had picked up the amount of bodies. Now in the dim light from their pocket flash lights, the foursome looked with a critical eye for anything out of place. 

Sam walked close to Steve, checking rooms across from the ones Cap was searching. Long hallways with small offices and cubicles. Paper pushing jobs galore basically. Files and papers soiled with blood where an unlucky person was shot or in the crossfire , littered the floor of some of the offices. 

There's wasn't anything for them. No clues. No prints. Untraceable Soviet shells for the semi automatic used. No one alive to tell them anything. Each shot was a kill. A red mark on a soul that shouldn't have been tainted.

Natasha found the security room. Her fingers flying over the keys and for a moment she thought of bright eyed and smiling Skye. Always knowing exactly what to do with tech like this and even going so far as to maybe outwit the Widow in intelligence. She shook the image away and went back to work. Now wasn't the time for this. 

Her eyes searched through the tapes, all of them either shot out or disconnected before an image of the assailant could be caught by the lens. Growing angrier by the second Natasha looked over the last tape. Her body going still and eyes wide at the familiar golden sheen of hair bobbing down the hall in front of her eyes. Back turned towards the camera and she couldn't see the face but she knew. There was no one else she knew with that mixed shade of yellow gold and blonde. 

The figure stopped in the middle of the hall, turned her shoulder and raised a wrist to the camera. Dull blue eyes, nearly grey, that beautiful sharp steel color gone, shone toward the camera and seared into Natasha's eyes. The twitch of a finger and the camera image was gone. Fuzzy waves of grey and black waving over the recording now. 

Natasha whispered out a curse in Russian, sitting there in silent shock for a few moments before shaking herself. She loaded everything up on a data stick. And then destroyed everything left in that room. No one could discover that image. Hopefully ever. 

Meeting up with Clint and Steve the three of them headed back to the jet. Silence rang like clanging bells until the hatch closed. The engines roared softly to life and they were in the air in moments. Steve gave her a glance, his tired face daring to hope and he saw the look on her eyes. Tears threatening to spill from her lids as she nodded once and turned away. The Black Widow was cracking. 

\-----

"Send Beta team to New York. Launch an outer attack at Stark's tower." Shmidt orders as said Beta team were being let out of cryo cells and brought back from their frozen state. In three hours they would be at full strength and ready for debrief. 

"And Alpha team sir?" The commander asked, an almost hesitancy in his strong voice. Eyes flickering to the solid and utterly still figures on either side of the door. Arms crossed, weapons ready, eyes staring down anything and everything with a cold glare that sent ice down a spine. Not the Commanders no. He was the Assets handler last. He knew how that deadly weapon could be easily controlled. 

The male was frightening enough. Dark hair covering his eyes darkened with battle kohl. Bulging bicep and forearm and thighs barely contained in the leather and Kevlar. The sheen of the metal on his arm, for those who had witnessed the power behind it, was enough to send most of the younger agents running with a twitch of a finger. 

But the female, the tiny thing beside him. That's what was intriguing the commander. Beneath the cold, icy stare there was a kind face, or what used to be one. He could see it , like a gut feeling deep inside when ever he caught her glare from across the room. She was thin and lithe in the leather uniform the assets were assigned. Her bare arms showcasing the mini crossbows at her wrists and he had seen the easy way she could take out a sniper nest with barely a flick of the wrist. 

She was deadly. He was lethal. They made a pair so unstoppable and dangerous he would have felt pity on any who came across their path, if he had a heart. They complimented each other so well, that if he had seen them in a different light. A different setting and life, he'd say they could have been the closest of loves. But this wasn't a nice dream, this is reality and they were soldiers. Ready to comply. 

"Alpha team will stay with me until further orders, commander." Giving the scarred man a slight glare. 

"I used to be his handler.." He was cut off.

"And you let him become compromised in battle. Lost him for two years. You are no longer fit to become his handler." He sneered at Commander Rumlow. 

"And you could barely control him. What makes you think you could take on both of them this time, hmm?" Brock started slightly, his eyes flickering to the pair at the door, gaze landing on her for only a second. 

"I thought so. You're dismissed Commander." And with that Brock turned on his heel and walked to the door. He would have to pass both of them to leave and he got a close up look at her features as he did so.

Locks of curling spirals of yellow gold spun around her face. Framing a sharp chin and soft cheekbones, a full set of pink lips. A tiny beauty mark under the outer corner of her right eye. Stark against the pale skin. His gaze was too long on her because the next thing he knew the Soldier had grabbed him. Much like a person would do with a pup, the nape of his neck was grabbed and he was tossed easily from his spot, out into the hall. 

Brock caught himself and stood to his full height, ignoring the couple inches the soldier had on him and glared right back into grey storms. Several things were swirling around in his mind as he stayed in a locked gaze with the soldier. One, why did he even react at Brock just looking at the girl. Two, he was raging at being denied his previous position as a handler to the asset. Three, he wanted that blonde. 

There was a primal want to have her. She was just an asset. A mindless, thoughtless and emotionless soldier. Something to be used over and over again. And Brock wanted to use her, thoroughly. If he played his cards right, he could have Conquest in his quarters and under his command for a short time. And the best part, she wouldn't break. The only obstacle would be him, the Soldier.

They stared at each other for long moments. Neither one ready to make a first move. He didn't know why, he couldn't let another male touch Conquest. It set his blood on fire and he fought everything in him to stay in control. But the moment the scarred man had even looked for too long in her direction, he lost it. Throwing the man out into the hall. His brain and body waiting for a command to stop or start, he was in limbo. 

A touch at the elbow of his left arm caught his attention. Conquests hand lay firm on his metal appendage and her eyes told him everything. 'Don't muck up our job, get the fuck back to your station.' And he moved swiftly, turning. And standing back at his post. His partner at the other side and mirroring his every move like the perfect protege she was. 

All the while Shmidt watched with eagle eyes. The interactions between Conquest and Winter were wonderful during missions and battle. But out of the rubble and bloodshed, they still shared that innate way of being familiar with each other. Which was impossible because the wipes were thorough. There was no way they knew what the other was. But watching the commander thrown away from Conquest was warrant enough for him to ignore it for now. It could come in handy.


	28. Chapter 28

28

Spring. The wet season. Showers and torrents of rain coming down to bring life to the chilly earth as the sun starts to warm. It used to be Clint's favorite season. The way the world woke up after a long winter. How the horses would nicker in the stables and paw at the stall doors to be let out. 

Mia would wake him up, blue eyes shining , bright and early when she was younger and drag either him or Nat out to the stables or garage. Desperate in her young years to spend every moment they had together, together. Both of the spies couldn't be gone, one started to always stay behind while the other went on a mission. 

Late, long hours spent covered in grease as they worked in sync on that rusted out Dart. Natasha watching carefully, ever the mother hen when around the young girl that had popped into her life soon after Clint saved the assassin he was meant to kill. Taking one look at the bubbly blonde and instantly loving her. It wasn't until years later Clint and Natasha had found out of their thin relation. It didn't matter, they were a family. A haphazard and strange one, but a family none the less. 

The rain fell on the window panes in waves of heavy splatter. The noise covering over the tapping of fingers on a keyboard. He was tired. So damn tired he felt it clear down to the bones. He hadn't slept in days. An hour here or there if he was lucky. He barely ate, only with Nat or Sam shoved something in front of him and pleaded softly that he can't wither away on her like this.

But she was withering too. Sunken cheeks, pale skin. The usual bright sheen to her red locks simply lacked that show stopping color lately. She was regressing into programming long since gotten over from the red room. Turning cold for hours or maybe days on end. Working herself to the bone as she searched and searched. Nothing since the massacre months back, nothing on Mia. On Bucky. On Skye. On Ward. 

But they'd gotten a glimpse of Skye a week after the court house. Tremors rocked Tony's tower. A tower that was built for earthquakes that didn't even register on a scale yet. Her powers full force and windows shattered all over as the walls and braces were bent precariously. 

She was right there, Ward at her side and opening fire on any person that even came close to her. Both sets of eyes faded and dulled to nothing. And even as Tony and what was left of his iron legion surrounded them, she raised a hand and their suits started to crumple around them. 

Tony cried out and asked her why. He got no response. Only another sharp crunch and his right knee shattered inside the suit, his body dropping to the cement on hands and knees. The pain wrenching him to silence as Ward threw something at his hands. They were gone in a billow of smoke like shadows. Not a trance left.

Tony had called Steve moments later. 'Cap, just had a run in with Quake and Ward.... They left us somethin...'

'What did they leave Tony?' The silence rang out. 

'Just... Come to the compound.. Towers done, for now..'

Steve clutched those tags in his hand for hours after Tony handed them over. He was numb. The heavy plates hanging from the strong line of chain in his fist. Mocking him on his failures. This was the second time he held those tags in his fist after Bucky fell in the war.. It was after all, all they had found after they searched for his body.

The three of them were a set. Moody and despondent. Lackluster and completely useless in their titles as avengers at this point. A year and half later. They were shadows of themselves. Steve couldn't take losing his best friend again, add the fact that he couldn't protect those kids. He was a wreck. Clint and Nat were so lost in their own grief, they couldn't keep their most prized possession safe. What does that say about the two spies? 

A soft sigh and Natasha leans on her elbows over the laptop she's been working on for hours now. Fingers running at her temples, bloodshot eyes closed, shoulders tense. Clint walks and grips her right shoulder in his hand, giving a squeeze as she sits in silence for a few moments.

"Clint... We have to get her back."

"We will."

"And retire. I can't take this anymore."

He stays silent in agreement. He was done with it all as well. Pretty sure Steve was too. This was too much. This was the straw that broke the camels back. 

Steve and Sam knocked on the wooden door, the tags safely hooked around Steve's neck. "We found something." A tiny blossom of hope sprouting from the ashes of their burned lives.

\---

A politician had been hit. Right through the heart with an untraceable Soviet bullet from a long range rifle. One that was on shields watch list but fell through the cracks and regrettably wasn't offered the proper amount of protection. It didn't matter. He was dead now. 

Security footage caught a blurry flimsy of the assailants. Local law enforcement put out a warrant but they had no name, no faces, no specifics. Only one had dark hair, the other blonde. One tall the other petite. Fast as lightning and then gone before the shot stopped ringing out. 

Nat took one look at the grainy footage. A slender body with cropped yellow curls was grabbed and thrown onto a fire escape. A much larger frame leaping up after her as the two scaled the side of the building to vanish off another camera view. It was them.

"They've paired her with Bucky.." Steve spoke as he watched it again, watching the familiar glint of metal vanish from the image. 

"Shit... He'll teach her everything.." Sam spoke softly, scrubbing not a hand over his face. He was lost on how to fix this whole mess. "He knows everything..."

Clint stormed out of the apartment. Anger was an understatement. Rage didn't come close to how he felt. Nat found him hours later. A hole in the wall bar wth sticky floors and watered down booze and he was drunk. Slumped onto the worn wooden bar, baseball cap low over his eyes and group of bottles in front of him, empty. 

"Come on.." Nat whispered to his form as she pried the half empty glass of whiskey from his hands and helped him out of the bar and into her car. 

They rode in silence as she wove through streets and crossways to the outskirts of the city forty minutes later. It was New York, you don't get all the way across the city quickly. Once out of the city limits a few turns later and she was going down a long gravel drive toward a sprawling farm.

"Out." She ordered and pulled him from the car. Their feet crunching on the gravel as Nat made her way toward a small paddock holding several familiar coats. 

Clint was leant against the fence, not seeing where he was or what was going on until a soft whiskered muzzle was nibbling on his ball cap. Turning he found family chocolate brown eyes set into a black as night covered head and jaw. 

"Leo..." The large horse have a soft huff and rubbed his wide forehead against Clint's shoulder, easily pushing the man a bit in his drunken state. 

The stables hadn't been hit horribly when hydra had come and destroyed the farmhouse and gardens. Luckily all nine of Mia's beloved four footed friends were out in the small pasture at the time. Safe from the burning building. But not safe from the barrage of bullets coming their way. Out of nine there were only three left alive enough to be nursed back to health. 

Leo had busted through the wire fence on instinct of flight or fight and had herded the remaining two mares out of the pasture and into the thick woods around the house. Hiding and keeping them safe even with three bullet wounds. A nick in the neck, a clean shot through his hindquarters and another lodged near his shoulder blades. 

Clint hadn't thought the horse would make it when they all found the animals a couple days later. But the wild horse came through, a strong fighter. Natasha had found this place close to the city where they could be kept safe and near. The man who ran it was kind and took very good care of the animals. The thought of putting them up for sale would have them cringing. Mia wouldn't stand for it. She loved them.

The silent tears came. No sobs, no wracking shoulders or spine cringing whimpers. Simply salty tears running down his cheeks as he reached out and petted Leo's solid cheekbone. 

"I traced that image... Found a getaway car three blocks away from the kill site and managed to grab a plate number. It's not much but we can go from there." Natasha spoke softly, Clint listening to every word as he pulled himself together. One last pat to Leo, Clint's back straightened out.

"When do we leave."

"Dawn." With a nod they both quietly said their goodbyes to Leo, his eyes showing his sadness at being left alone yet again. Missing his little keeper and wondering where she is.

\----

Sunny warm light filtered in through the cracks of the newspaper covered window. Waking the sleeping bundle under a threadbare blanket on a thin mattress set on the floor. Yellow gold curls spilled from the top of the blanket. Greasy and tangled and falling in thick locks over the thin pillow. A tiny groan and the little girl was awake. Stretching and rubbing sleep from her eyes. 

Looking over at the window, praying it was as nice outside as it felt this morning. Because if it was raining she wouldn't make it to school dry. And if she wasn't dry, her dad would have to be called to come get her. And the consequences for that were too great to ignore. The small round burn marks covered over her shoulder blades and back of her neck were growing in number lately. Making it harder to hide them.

A barking shout. A set of small shoulders cringing. She almost got up , if she stayed there any longer the shout would turn into heavy footsteps and a sting over her cheek or burn on her pale skin. But she didn't. Gunshots rang out in the decrepit apartment building.

Unmoving, scared to blink. She watched the dust spiral down from the sunlight streams. Footsteps came up the stairs. Not heavy, lighter. Familiar. Door creaking open and stops by her bed. The blanket gently pulled back to reveal a familiar set of cool blue eyes, blonde short hair and plaid bomber jacket.

"Hey sweetheart." Her brother picked her up, cradled her against his chest as the sobs came from her. She didn't know why she was crying, she felt safe for once and didn't know how to react. 

Large rough hands rubbed over her back and she settled slightly in her sobbing. This was the first time she's seen him in a year now. Leaving her with.. It didn't matter. He was here now. 

"Wa..."

"Shhhh." He shushed her as she tried to croak something out. "I'm sorry I left you. I'm so sorry." Her baggy tank top revealed the burn marks, old and new scattered over her thin shoulder blades. The lines on the backs of her legs and thighs. Thin and healed but still there none the less from the heavy leather belt even he had marks from.

"I took care of it sis, you're safe now okay?" The sound of sirens called from the distance, rushing to get through the morning traffic.

He held her tighter to his chest. Whispering softly into her hair. "I'm sorry... I can't stay. You're not safe with me."

"Don't leave me, please."

"I have to honey. I'm sorry. I wish i could. But where I'm going you can't go..." Sirens were louder, a few blocks away.

"Listen to me, Mia." Her red bloodshot eyes met his and he choked back a sob. "You're gonna be okay alright? I found someone you can trust, he's gonna look after you okay? He's family, your moms family." They'd never talked about it, she still barely understood how they had spectate mothers.

The police had started to surround the building, he needed to leave. "I'm sorry baby, you'll be fine without me. I love you."

And he was gone, leaving her a sobbing mess. The police found her like that. Found the body of her father shot in the head, chest and leg. She wouldn't talk, refused to talk to anyone. She went into the system. A number finally found and someone came to pick her up, months later. 

"Hey sweety, my names Clint." He knelt down to her eye level and smiled kindly at her. "I'm your cousin and you're gonna come stay with me okay?" 

She woke with a small start in her cot. Eyes shooting open and sitting up to plant her feet on the floor. The chill bringing her to full wakefulness. As soon as she woke the images were gone. Faces, names, colours smells. Everything. Her partner lifted himself up into a sitting position in his own cot across the cell. Metal bars separating them by a couple feet. 

They were being watched, the black spots in the corner of the cells showing cameras. Concern flowed inside him slightly, foreign to his mind waves. But she made no other moves besides shaking her head slightly and laying back down. He resumed his own spot and crossed his arms behind his head. Dulled blues staring into the ceiling until his eyes closed and he faded into a light doze. 

In the months they'd been out of their frozen cells the alpha team, as they had been dubbed, were a close pair. Even though neither would show emotion or disobey an order. They were never far from the other. Most missions and training sessions had them paired up anyways. but the very rare few times that had them separate, Rumlow oversaw Conquest as a makeshift handler. He didn't have the authority to give her orders that deviated from the mission, but she was docile most of the time for the mission. Not for him. Though he'd tried coming a bit too close only once, and ended up with a fist to the guy and his superior chewing him out. 

It sent a red flash of anger through the soldier whenever she was pulled from his side. The commander gave him a feeling of distrust. His mind refused to form much on the fact of his attachment other than that she was his protege. If she learned anything from anyone else it would make his training useless. But that wasn't why he got angry now, was it?

He grew into a silent rage those few times that she was brought back from the commanders missions. Without a proper outlet he struck her down with the backside of his hand. A snarl on his lips as he felt barely a flash of pressure from his metal hand. A drop of blood forming down the middle finger and falling to the tiled floor. Even with her advanced strength and reflexes she couldn't back away or flinch from the slap. She wasn't allowed to flinch. Neither was he. This was punishment, one he was allowed to give. He didn't feel regret as she closed her eyes to fight off the sting as her cheek healed slowly, the split from his metal fingers closing up. Not without a couple drops of crimson blood staining her pale flesh. 

She would stand herself back up and that would be the end of it. She knew he was angry about her being near the commander. Though it couldn't be helped. Their handler ordered the mission and they followed orders without thought. She didn't like it either, the way the commander leered at her. But she ignored it. Ignored the slap on her face as Winter smacked her sharply with his metal hand. This was his way of saying she was his. 

It wasn't her fault. It wasn't his fault. It was a problem they dealt with without complaint or action. They were tools, soldiers, dogs on tight leashes. They had no opinion and knew it, deep down. She doesn't feel forgiveness, but that's what happens. She doesn't react anymore then nodding , eyes to the floor and refusing to meet his own. As if it would challenge him on some primal level and he'd lash out again. Releasing it quickly and ignoring the trail of the small drop of blood running down her cheek and neck, vanishing in the tight leather of her tactical gear. 

Winter places a hand at the small of her back, light, possessive, pushing. Guides her back to their cells where they walk inside willingly. Unflinching as he doors are slammed shut and they're locked inside. Sure, they could probably busy through the bars and concrete blocks of the wall. But that's not their orders. 

Schmidt watches from the security cameras, brow furrowed and eyes searching as he watches the interactions over and over on the screen. He hadn't realized how much of the deep seated emotions would come through the programming. 

No, not love or affection or kindness or remorse. The more primal ones. Anger, lust, hunger. They were all there. His anger toward Rumlow, lust and want toward Conquest, and the hunger of his bloodlust as he took out targets in training. 

An idea forming in the back of his mind. Filtering though from recesses and shadows until it came forward. Shocking the mad scientist into stillness and a wicked smirk crossing his face. Startling some of the younger scientists to slowly make their way away from the grinning mad man they took orders from. He'd come up with another idea. And lord help the poor souls included.


	29. Chapter 29

29

 

Precision. 

Perfection.

Flawless.

Polished.

Strict.

Faithful.

Loyal.

Obedience.

Unfaltering. Unwavering. 

Soldiers.

Weapons in a row. Humans pushed by humans to destroy the soul of the other and use the shell. To build them back up, make them into what is needed. 

Weapons take many forms. Metal, wood, living, non. Everything and anything can be made into something. 

A bow and arrow. Made of simple wood and string. Can be morphed into black steel and sharp wire cord.

An animal. If brought up in a loving area, can be a protector and playmate. Easily trained into a vicious, primal force. Ready to hit and snap and kill on command. 

A person. A woman? Born to nurture and love. Soul ripped to shreds, burned to ash and swept clean with training and commands, orders. A loveless soulless creature with the instincts of a feral lion.

He sees her through pale blue eyes. Watches her go through the movements of daily training. Going through the motions. 

He's not sure how. But he knows. He knows everything. It wasn't like the first time, when Steve's face woke up something inside him. Where it all came slowly, with images and nightmares and memories out of the blue over long months.

This was vastly different. It came all at once. It didn't leave him dizzy, mournful or guilty. Something just clicked inside of his head while walking down a hall. Conquest by his side and slightly behind him, her own steps sure and light. 

His steps only faltered the slightest bit. Everything happening in a split second of time. Like a hammer had been thrown into a thin glass display case that held all the memories and himself inside his own head. She didn't notice, no one did. He moved with his step falter, making it appear as if he was giving her a wider berth and instead of behind Schmidt they were on either side of him. Nothing out of ordinary there. 

Outside. He was the perfect winter soldier. Exactly what they wanted him to be. He made no movement to run away. No outward sign anything had changed. No angered looks or sudden changes in demeanour. 

Back to their cells. A wall of bars separating them in the small space. His heart beating a mile a minute as he tried to wager how long they'd been under control. Where Skye and Ward could possibly be. And if Mia herself was maybe coming out of it too.

Nothing changed in a span of two weeks. He hated himself for it. But it couldn't be helped. The targets had to be shot down or taken out. He couldn't give injuries all of a sudden, had to be instant death on his part. Couldn't show an outward sign of him being of free mind. It doesn't bother him. And that's what's bothering him. 

But then it happened. Something he had been dreading more then being found out. Rumlow. A small mission needed to be done. Winter was too valuable for something so meagre. So Commander was given the orders. And Conquest was towed away to leave Winter in his cell for three days of constant pacing and rage. 

That was normal for him. For the Soldier. The pacing whenever she was away from his presence. Like an alpha forcibly separated from his mate. He hated it like nothing he'd ever experienced before. Knowing she'd come back bruised or worse for wear. Knowing Rumlow would attempt something with her. He was a hard headed bastard after all of these years here with hydra but dammit if he didn't want that girl like the sun wants to rise every morning in the east. Conquest was his! 

Dammit....There he went again. Using that damned named they'd given her. 

Calling her Conquest, like the archer atop the white horse of the four horseman. In a way she was.. They were all similar to that damned group of legend. He wasn't nicknamed 'War' several decades back for nothing... Except the previous set of soldiers made didn't make it past his personal training...

He needed to get her out of this hell. Back to Steve and the avengers , they'd be safe there. That is... If he could get them out of here first. But even before that, he needed to know if Mia was Mia...fucking hell. How was he going to do that without alerting someone to his now free will and mind?...

Pacing his cell Bucky waited. And waited. And waited... Nothing. Two whole days of not seeing her. He was restless. Wrathful. Fed up with their side eyes and scared twitches at every move he made inside his iron cage. One swift punch through the door and he'd be free. But what good would that do?

\----

It's been five days. 

Five god damned days.

And she isn't back yet. 

The soldier has been extra hostile lately. Killing four guards just in the span of two days. Breaking necks with a flip of fingers as easy as popping knuckles lazily. It took Schmidt those two days to figure out why his main dog was pacing its' cage and snapping at anyone coming near him. 

The Commander was late with his mission. Of course Schmidt had known Rumlow was coming back late. He's been informed and hadn't given it another thought. There were no pressing matters that needed Conquest back with the alpha. He should have known what would happen if Alpha team was separated for too long. Here was his proof. 

He'd seen it ages ago but chose to use it against them. Threatening to hurt the other if the one doesn't obey completely. He'd seen the long looks of hunger, the way Winter would hit her cheek whenever she was gone too long with Rumlow. Rubbing a hand over his chin he ordered more guards around the cells and called Rumlow's emergency burner. Conquest needed to be returned before the soldier went fully berserk. He couldn't have that. 

\-----

He was on the very edge. He'd downed another three guards who'd tried to open the door. Bringing in his total in the past few days up to seven. A couple broken necks and one heart literally punched from a chest. Blood dripping down his metal fist clenched tight at his side. They shut the door again quickly, triple dead bolted with vibranium locks. It would take him awhile to get through the thick steel of the door. He couldn't go for the sides but the very centre, it would be weaker. 

His entire body vibrated with fury and rage, and above all else, fear. He was deathly afraid of something happening to Mia. God, he'd be destroyed if he could have prevented something. So he paces. Back and forth and back again in the small eight by six cell. Skirting past the metal cot bolted to the floor with a too thin mattress. Feral glinted eyes staring unblinking at the door every few moments. If he wasn't already slightly insane, he would have said he was going crazy. 

Then it happened. What he's been waiting so impatiently for. The door opened and a bundle wrapped in a bloodied blanket was thrown in with him. Not in the cell next to him but in his own. And one glance at the bundle as it moved, a lock of matted blonde curls. A tiny pitiful whimper of pain that only his ears could find in the near silent room. Mia.

He didn't spare the slammed door a glance. Instead his body moved quickly, picking up the bundle and placing her on the bed gently. She was wrapped loose but it was a big blanket, scratchy and thick. Most likely an army blanket of some kind. And it was covered in drops of blood. Bucky prayed to every god he could think of it wasn't hers but he knew it was. These people were that cruel. No.. Rumlow was this cruel.

Her eyes opened up as he tried peeling the blanket off of her. Her knuckles white as she clenched it back around herself, refusing to let him remove it. Baby, steely blues were dulled and glazed with glass as she held back tears threatening to fall. She looked so hurt in the moment, so damn small and frail and it broke Bucky to see her that way. 

What the hell did Rumlow do to her....

He could only guess. And by the way she turns her head, the emotionless mask starting to fall on her face, shoulders tense, fingers gripping for dear life. He can imagine exactly what Rumlow's done to her. He made Mia a promise to protect her and by god he's gonna start keeping it. He's had enough of this hell hole. Enough of Hydra. And Rumlow. Rumlow will bleed for this. 

He can't talk. He can't even really whisper because the hidden cameras could catch his lips moving. He can't risk that. He can't risk doing too much out of the ordinary or they might see what's going on. That he's of sound mind and angry as hell. But what's considered ordinary in this scenario? He's never been in a situation like this before and he's not sure what will get him found out. 

So he gently gives tug on the blanket bunched at her hands. Her eyes meeting his, a silent challenge in her eyes. But his are stronger and she relents. Training kicking in and responding to his orders without sound or voice. She takes a moment before loosing her grip on the bloodied blanket and Bucky prepares himself for what's underneath. He takes a silent deep breath and peels it away from her shoulders. 

Her skins pale. Paler than its been since they'd been taken from the sunshine all those months ago. But it's smeared with drops of blood here and there. There's visible hand and fingers prints on her delicate throat and collar bones. Around her upper arms and wrists. She's covered in another mans marks of abuse. Bucky has to clench his metal hand for a moment before continuing to pull the blanket off lest his rage spill over and scare her. Because no matter her facial expressions being cold and uncaring. Her eyes held all the turmoil and fright her soul was holding back. 

Her armor is gone. The ballistics pads and black Kevlar removed at some point. Leaving her in the now ripped and stretched remains of a black ribbed tank top. It's pulled apart at the neck and the left armpit. The line of stitching loose from someone grabbing it harshly. The front above her chest is rumpled, as if a large fist had taken the fabric in its fingers and pulled her entire body upwards. There's a rip from the left rib cage to her navel, too clean to be anything but a too sharp knife. Bucky can just make out the healing slash in the crusted blood over her skin. 

The blanket is dropped from her shoulders and bunched loosely at her hips. Covering the rest of her and Bucky waits patently for a few moments. He can't show that he cares too much, they could do something to them, to her. And he won't live with himself. But he waits just a moment longer as she collects herself. Her small fists are clenched tightly at her sides and she's trying so hard not to grab the blanket and cover her beaten body back up. His palm softly lands on her knee and gives it a small squeeze of encouragement. And she tenses but relaxes minutely, it's enough for him to go on. 

Peeling the blanket back he's met with more pale skin marred with slashes from knives and purple, red bruises already starting to darken and heal themselves. What really caught his attention is her lack of undergarments. She's only covered by the long tank top and a pair of black cotton panties that look stretched on one side where someone's ripped them off of her hips and thighs. There's a lot of finger print sized bruises over her hips and inner and outer thighs. A particularly rough looking one on her lower abdomen where it looks like she's been punched or kicked repeatedly in the gut. 

Jesus... 

He's seen enough. Taking her shock at his quick movements to his advantage, he slips an arm around her waist. Lifting her up quickly to his hip like a child. He grabs the blanket and throws it to the corner of the cell, hatred for the offensive thing as he sets her back on her feet. Before she's even registered she's standing again, and she's got to be out of it because she's quicker then him most days. He pulled that offensive tank top off of her and tossed it to join the blanket. He doesn't stare but gets an eyeful of her round breasts, marred with bruises and hickeys and even a couple teeth marks. Suppressing his growl of animalistic rage at even more of her soft skin showing abuse, he pulled off his own plain black shirt and pulled it over her head. 

Gently but firmly he's pulling her arms through the holes and reaching back to pull her hair from the neckline. It's not much, but it's warm and it covers her much more than the ripped tank top did. And more importantly, it's his.

She's stood frozen since he set her on her feet. Worried he's somehow scared her, he ducks his head and cups her chin with his metal hand. The cool touch seeming to bring her back with a heavy gasp and her eyes lock with his. Everything showing behind those steel blues. She's scared, terrified. In so much pain and...And.. His brow furrows..there's a twinkle in her eye he hasn't seen in a long time. 

"Mia?" His lips barely part, they don't move otherwise. Her name a near silent, pleading whisper as he searched those eyes for something. And he finds what he's looking for. Whatever's happened has triggered a reversal of the mind wipe in her. 

"Bucky?" Her lips just barely tremble at the tiny voice she makes. It sounds so small, so scared. He wants so much to grab her and kiss away the pain she's in, take her out of here. But he can't. If he shows too much they'll do the unthinkable to them, to her. 

"Play along, please..." He barely whispers and it takes her a moment to understand as his face turns cold and angry. He's standing to his full height, a good head or two taller than her. Shoulders broad and bare now after giving her his shirt. She can feel the heat coming from his skin even from this distance. His metal and flesh hands clench into fists at his sides and he glares down at her. "I'm sorry..."

Any other time, before she regained herself these past few days of literal hell. She would have stepped up and challenged that look in his eyes. Given in after a solid smack to the cheek like always but that was their way as Winter and Southern. She would get unwanted attention from Rumlow. The Commander would touch her somehow and she couldn't say no. Winter would see from a distance, corner her, and knock some literal sense into her for something neither one of them could change. 

It had been instinctual the first time it had happened. He'd cornered her in a hallway, deserted of agents. Slapped her right across the cheek with the metal plates of his left hand, the sheer force of it knocking her back into the wall with a horrid thunk as her head hit the bricked wall. Grabbed her by the front of her uniform and slammed her back into the wall as she started to slip down. His teeth found the delicate cord of her neck on the right side , brutal enough to rip into flesh and make blood drip from his lips as he keeps her pinned to the wall with his massive frame. She only gave a gasp of surprise and kept silent. It was cruel, the way he marked her like this, but he needed to do it and she wouldn't say no. Couldn't, she was beneath him in rank and her training refused anything but obedience to him. 

It had taken weeks for that bite to heal and it still scarred. Teeth prints marked permanently into her neck. Pink and slightly raised but none the less you had to look for it to really see it. Nevertheless that had been the worst he'd done to her whenever Rumlow made some sort of move to her when he wasn't around. 

Now they were back to themselves. Possibly? With no way to actually communicate freely they were treading water in the pitch black with something holding their shoulders down at any move toward the surface. And she had to play along. It's not going to be what Bucky does in the next few moments that's hurting her. It's going to hurt because the look of utter guilt and shame in his eyes is what's hurting her. He has to do it though, or something so much worse could happen if they don't act their part. 

So he growls in anger and backhands her across the cheek with his flesh hand. She's stumbling into a crouch on the floor, doesn't reach up to her stinging cheek or up into his eyes because if she does she'll cry and she can't cry. Conquest doesn't cry. So neither will Mia. So she grits her teeth and stands up but he gets there before her. His hand gripping her upper arm and she's slung to his chest with her back. His metal arm slipping over her jaw to cup it harshly and make her face him over her right shoulder. The other arm clawing at her opposite hip as he presses her scantily clad form into his own. None of his movements actually hurt too much. He's trying so hard to be gentle and still look as if he's causing bruises. This is a hard scene to play. And she's so tired and sore. 

She's staring at his eyes and his into hers. Ice meeting steel in a frozen span of seconds or minutes they're not sure . And he's kissing her the next second. It's forceful, all teeth and tongue and nothing kind or sweet about it. And he hates himself because this is the first kiss they've had since he promised to protect her all those months ago. It should have been sweet and full of the love he felt. But it wasn't and wasn't going to be right now. They were playing their parts well. 

She's gasping for breath when he's released her and he's not done yet. He knows Smhidt is more than likely watching them with rapt attention now. He's never kissed her before while under that bastard's control. He has to make it look perfect. Like this is a punishment and not something to assure her safety or comfort. 

His teeth are sunk into her neck once more. She cries out at the sudden immense pain in such a soft place. It's a surprise to her and she acts accordingly, struggling in his grip until he tightens his arms and she can't move with the mass amount of strength behind his muscles. There's blood trickling down her pale throat to clash and meld with the already dried droplets. Painting her bruises with the thick redness of it. He releases her neck but that's all. Let's her head sink to the side, still baring her throat in submission as their breathing slows. He loathes himself. 

He can't show comfort. He's already been too kind and gentle when she first came in. They'll think he was just checking her over until he saw the marks. Went into a rage and marked her like he did afterwards. They can think what they want. As long as they can't figure out he's of sound mind and thinking of a plan already.

So he pushes her to the cot. Barely enough space to call it a twin mattress. She's glaring at him like Conquest would. And that's what they need. They need to be what's expected of them. He snarls out angrily and raises his flesh hand as if to strike her and she obeys. Climbing into the bed and sitting down with her back against the wall. He's beside her in a second, rolling her down onto her side and clutching onto her as if his life depends on it. 

The lights are shut off from the outside. Most likely Smhidt, watching them from cameras even Bucky can't seem to find. It only leaves Bucky the slightest bit relieved. It means they won't take her away from him tonight. But come morning they'll want to check her injuries and give her a physical after her mission with Rumlow. 

His arms only circle tighter, mindful of her stomach and the giant bruising there. He knows she's hurt where he hasn't seen. The way she flinched at every move of her thighs and the way she clenched her fists as she tried to stand up straight. Rumlow hurt her. And he would pay. 

Le time skip------------

Hydra had slipped up finally. Just a tiny slip up but it made all the difference. They hadn't checked all the cameras of the street. Forgetting the tiny little hole in the wall grocery store that was closed on the corner. With its hidden security camera that used tapes and wasn't digital. Revealing a set of two faces they had been searching relentlessly for months. Nearly two years actually.

Masked and covered from head to toe in Mat black. The sheen of a metal limb, the quick twinkle of a steel tipped arrow. Lithe bodies leaping and bounding over parked cars, fire hydrants and bicycles. Lean legs flexing as arms and hands grip and throw body weight around like parkour champions of the highest degree.

If the avengers are honest with themselves, and they wouldn't admit it out loud. An impressive feeling coming over the senior agents. That was training and agility some could only dream of having with years under their belt. A shiver ran down their collective spines at the way the two of them moved together. Fluid and graceful, without losing a single breath of how dangerous they were. 

One more camera angle, far in the left hand corner of the screen they stood. Not even out of breath. A hand tangled in blonde curls, small back slammed into the darkened edge of a brick wall. Lips melded together. A gasp from the Captain and Clint as they watched. Bucky had her pinned to the darkened wall, nearly impossible to see unless you knew that metal limb.

Words were whispered, because Mia's face was nodding, yellow gold curls bouncing as she agreed to whatever he said to her. One more soft kiss and the masks were back on, cinched tight. And they were gone with a blink of an eye. Two dark movements of shadows trailing through the darkened streets. 

The shocked silence rang around the group. This was...phenomenal. They weren't acting like assassins in those few short moments in the darkened alley. That was outright human ways of acting in an extreme situation. 

"He's broke the programming..." Steve whispered softly, breaking the heavy silence with the soft tone of his hopeful voice. 

"How.." Coulson stood with Fury. weathered eyes met eye and confusion rang out with them all. 

It was impossible. Yet.. 

No. Steve refused to think anything else than what his gut instinct was telling him. That Bucky had come somewhat out of his programming. If only just enough to recognize the girl. There was no audio in the camera. No way to figure out what was said or whispered. 

Something was going on. And it looked like they pawns were turning into hidden Knights. 

Hope was finally blooming.


	30. Chapter 30

30

Out of body experiences. They tell you about these in school, documentaries and doctors shows. How the mind will become disassociated with the body in extreme trauma or emotional distress. It's so much more than what others make it out to be. You still feel everything. Every touch. Every burn. Every slash. Every sound. Every single pain is alive. You're just not aware and fully aware at the same time. 

There's flashes. Bright, then dim and bright again. Over and over and over again in her vision. It's dark and then light and darkness again. Each one a flash in her minds eye. A face. A voice. A scene. Her life? She's a soldier, doesn't have a life. Must be a trick. Amber eyes float and a strange feeling of longing comes through before its registered in her brain. Changing to stormy grey blues that make her heart stutter in its fast pacing for a mere second and then resuming its frantic beat. 

The ghost scent of burning flesh. Making her want to cringe in fear. She's conquest. She doesn't know fear. What the hell... another scent flashing through her mind paired with the calmness that comes with it apparently, hay and oats, the smell of leather cleaner and the sound of tinkling metal on concrete. It's gone in a flash like the others. Each one remaining a half millisecond longer than the last. 

Then there's pain beyond what she's experienced thus far. Sharp needles in her flesh and a burning inferno in her veins and muscles screaming as they grow and stretch. It's gone in a moment. Like all the rest and every flash is making her mind race. She's conquest. She's a soldier. 

A flutter of metal on metal. A small tinkling or jingling in the air by her ear. A flash of a warm embrace and a blossoming of something in her very soul that doesn't vanish with the flesh this time but what's happening to her body makes it vanish. Heavy breath on her ear as strong hands grip her throat. Dog tags hanging low on a scared chest, the very edges trailing lightly over her breast bone and she suppresses a shudder. She's... Conquest. 

No that's not right. Somethings not right. She shouldn't be questioning her name. A slice across her body, above the navel. She feels but doesn't register the pain yet, too much going on in her mind that she's not showing outwardly. She's drowning in a sea of nothingness and desperately clawing her way to the surface without making any noise. 

Conquest. That's what she is. A soldier. Hydra's soldier. A force to bring the greater good to those who won't accept . She's a protege of the Winter Soldier. She's the second half of alpha team. She's conquest. A master of the crossbow. She's ... Mia.

What? That sounded... Familiar. Why? Why was that name familiar.. No she's conquest. She's... She's.... Conquest? Now it doesn't fit in her mind. She doesn't have a name. She's a nameless soldier... So why does a name make her feel so... At home? Safe... She's fighting for the surface, gasping for breath and refusing to move because if she does they'll know she's fighting on the inside. She can't show it on the outside. Doesn't know why but she keeps herself locked in her own mind. 

Mia... Mia... It... It's her name. Mia. It's her name. And.... Amber eyes dripping tears down scarred cheeks. It's her... It's her brother... Flashes of pain in a small body, soothing words and whispered in a dingy apartment. 

No she's conquest! She doesn't have a brother. But... Why is her mind coming up with all of these images then? How could she possibly be imagining all of these so quickly? 

Another jingling of metal to metal and she's lost in another imagining.. Another..memory? Warm sun on pale skin. Smiling face and stormy blue orbs that stare straight into her very dark soul. The tingling of metal as warm chain is hefted onto her neck. The weight of slim solid steel heavier than any sort of cinder block imaginable. Bucky...

The tensing of her body becomes more. The flashes are clear now. Running through her minds eye like a fastfoward through photos and clips. Her father. Her brother. Meeting Clint. Natasha teaching her some Russian as she grew older. Her first horse. The first engine she put together as a young girl. The gleam of her prized car sitting in the afternoon light by the lake. The huff of a horses breath on her neck as she hugs Leo. The way Bucky held her close and kissed her for all he was worth and more. The fear of being shot up with drugs and taken. The pain of the serum coursing through her veins. 

She's Mia. And she's conquest. 

And she's fucking angry.

\---

She barely remembers her brother. There's flashes and sounds, scents that will come out of nowhere or a tune that sends her into a depressed state of longing and loneliness and a bit of anger. Those scorchingly bright amber brown eyes will always be in the back of her memories. Pale blonde hair cropped short and neat, shaved around the back of his neck. 

It's the scars that'll always remind her of him though. She remembers how he got them. He came home late from high school. She wasn't even in the proper age for kindergarten yet. But she remembers. The gagging scent of gasoline. The shouting. The sobbing pleas. The sound of a zippo lighter being struck open and lit aflame. Then the god awful smell of charred flesh and screams of pain. 

The flash of red and blue lights. Only two months in the pen for assaulting his son and setting his child's face and chest on fire. Off early because the prison and city just didn't want to deal with him anymore. So he heads back. Refusing to pay medical bills for his son, beats his wife for not paying the bills and kicks his baby daughter across the rooms because she's crying behind the couch. Making too much noise.

Worthless. Stupid. Waste of space. Mistake. She doesn't know much else but the beatings. The loveless mother. And the brother who takes the brunt of the hits so her small body isn't completely broken. Let's her breath to survive another day. Figures out early on there is one person to rely on, her brother. 

But even he leaves. Slaughters their father. Murdered in cold blood. Wrists sliced open with practiced ease of katanas. Bullet holes in the knee caps, the spleen, right rib cage, both shoulders. Enough to let him bleed out in minutes but long enough for the waste of blood son to show him how much of a man he isn't. Tries to beg for life that isn't worth saving. Dies bleeding out in his filthy apartment. Doesn't even give a single thought about leaving his daughter all alone in the world. Damning his son to hell. 

She doesn't remember much. There were really no good memories. Just brief moments of a calm soothing whisper so she'd stop crying 'shhh Babygirl you'll wake him up'. 'Easy, don't move too much I gotta see the marks sis' 'Jesus Christ the bastard even got your legs too?' 'I know it hurts but you gotta be quite Mimi, please be quiet for big brother okay?'. He'd always stitch her back together when her skin ripped from the belt. Sooth the welts from cigarette burns on her fragile skin. Set ribs that had been kicked out of place in her small chest. Her tiny body was marred with enough wounds and scars that a man from war should have. Not a child. He would always help her heal just enough to fight to survive another day. She misses him. 

When she'd last seen her brother, he had destroyed their one fear in life. But he ran after that and she's never seen him again. She was bitter over it for years until she got older and realized why he left. The scars. The looks they'd get. He was a dangerous man and the courts would never allow for him to take her. He had to leave. Give her a new life and she was grateful, mostly. 

Looking back, Mia thought her days or torture in her everyday life were long gone. With her mind her own again, and seriously how the hell had that happened exactly? She wanted to detour something. There was so much anger and hatred inside of her body that she threatened to shake with the mass amount of it. Hatred for hydra. For Schmidt. And more than that, for Rumlow. She struggled in the days to come with controlling her anger and starting her normal neutral intimidating self she'd been for two years. 

The doctors and scientists that checked her over the next morning had murmured to themselves. Talked over her as if she wasn't really there. Gave her a shot of the morning after drug, 'just in case'. One had said to another doctor. She tightened her grip minutely on the steel gurney she sat on, her grip tight and nearly imprinting the metal with her grip she had. Her disgust and rage toward the Commander grew with every passing second they examined her. Taking into account her torn and ripped body, inside and out. The bruises starting to heal and change colours but she was stained inside now. 

All her years or beating and attacks from her own father, nothing compared to being raped for three days straight by Brock Rumlow. The serum didn't burn her as badly as he had. The now invisible marks from the multitude of burn marks never stung as sharp as the way he'd ripped into her with knife and body. She suppresses a shudder of disgust, can't let them know she even cares. She was simply following orders. None of them gave a damn about Conquest as long as she was still up and moving after the fact. 

Her cheek had an ache from when Bucky had struck her. That's the pain she used to focus herself. It kept her awake, violent and aware of her surroundings more than usual. Mapping out halls and rooms and levels as she's moved through the underground compound. She's searching for Skye and Ward with her eyes. Knowing they have a group training session every three weeks to keep the Beta team in shape and up to par with Alpha team.  
It was closing in on that three weeks, if her internal clock was correct. 

Her thighs hurt, her insides hurt. She could walk but with difficulty and she had to grit her teeth to not flinch. She couldn't focus on that though. She had to figure a way out of here. Had to find her friends and all of them escape. Hopefully taking the entire compound down. And if they couldn't escape.. They would take every last damn one of these people down with them. She'd die before letting these fuckers hurt someone like they'd done to Bucky, her and her friends. Sadistic bastards and their greater good, her ass. 

She pushes through the pain in her abdomen and pelvis and her escort guards take her straight to the shooting range, hand her the crossbows and point to the moving targets across the vast room. She doesn't wait for the order, cinches the bows on tight to her wrists and moves forward. Dropping and rolling, taking out targets with steel tipped arrows meant to shred flesh much like a hunters goal to take down a doe or boar. She moves with ease, fights through the stiffness threatening to take over her muscles. 

It's harder and harder to fall into place like she has for months now. These guards know her every move and if she's not careful they'll figure it out. So she goes through the motions, does her daily training and follows her escorts back to the cells. They put her back in Bucky's cell instead of her own. Her eyebrows want to raise but she simply walks in and waits for the door to snap closed and the locks to slide into place before her shoulders relax the tiniest bit. 

She sets herself on the thin mattress and lays back on her back, arms crossed behind her head, feet planted on the ground as she closes her eyes and forces her body to act calm and relaxed even though she's wound tighter then a spring on a four wheel drive truck. Her breathing even with practiced ease even though her heart rate is speeding forward. She desperately wants out of here. 

Hours later she hasn't moved and the door is opened. Bucky stalks inside and glares over his shoulder at the grunts closing the door. Their frightened faces showing how afraid they really were of his simple icy unblinking stare framed by dark hair and intimidating stature. He's killed his entire escort group since Conquest has been back to him. And the new group is terrified of him, good. 

As the door latches shut, bolts in place and locks turned. He turns to look at her on the bed, sprawled relaxing on the mattress and eyes still closed. As if she hadn't a care in the world. His gaze is hard and he stalks forward, a handful of golden curls in his grip and he ignores how soft it is in his fist as he hauls her up and onto her feet. She hangs in the grip with a feral glint in her face but her eyes are screaming at him to tell her what to do. 

He sees it but doesn't relent. Instead he turns them subtly to the left and spins two inches. Now both their faces are obscured from the cameras. "We have maybe three minutes before they fix the audio on the tapes. Listen very carefully okay, doll?"

His voice is such a shock to her she only nods mutely and gives him her full attention as his grip lessens in her hair but she doesn't move away. 

"There's an escape route, no one watches the training floors after we're done with them. They're specially made for us so none of the grunts can use it. There's an emergency exit hidden behind the climbing wall and doesn't need a code." She's listening raptly and taking everything he says to memory. Their eyes buring into the others. 

"Skye and Ward are on the other side of this floor in a similar set up like ours. Keypad and code changes daily but the doors are easy to open with my hand. I think... I think they're themselves but not completely. They've been fighting their handlers more and more." He was counting down the seconds in his head as their tiny window closed quickly. 

"I'll give you a sign when we start. I've got to find a way to disable the electricity and the back up generators at once. Once they're destroyed we'll make a run for Skye and Ward and then to the training floor."  
Time was up, just a few seconds left. His hand tightened up in her hair again. 

"Smhidt gave me orders today to make sure you know your place is under me. I know your hurting but I ... I love you okay babydoll? We gotta act this out so we'll get out of here okay? I'll make it up to you, promise." And his lips crashed into hers.


	31. Chapter 31

31

An ache in her abdomen and pelvis. A slice healing on her cheek from a metal finger, a slap that wasn't needed but had to be done. Large finger print bruises on her hips and thighs. It should have scared her, made her angry. Instead it kept her calm, sated in her fear of the unknown and oncoming shitstorm ready to bust through their lives. Bucky's touch was everything she's dreamed about and more. Not even disturbed by the rough way he had to handle her, she knew it was mostly an act. A following of orders from the one in charge. But it wasn't Rumlow touching her, not ever again. 

And then they had to wait. So she waited. She waited. And waited. And then the signal finally came. They'd taken Bucky for his daily training and the door slid shut. Instead of ringing silence there was shouting, the door swung open. Bucky reaching in and handing her a gun. It was time. 

There's a wound in her upper bicep of the left arm. Just a graze, enough to make Bucky snarl in rage and snap a couple necks in his rage. She brushes it off. Now is not the time. They had to reach Ward and Skye and reach the exit before the entire place went on lockdown. Before Schmidt shot them with the drug again. Ten minutes tops, if they were lucky. God help that they be lucky. 

They knew the halls. The twists and turns of grey cement. The doors and labs and offices that made up the team that took care of the soldiers. Doctors and lab techs and psychologists. Bullets meeting bodies faster then the living could comprehend and the dead too slow to react. The two didn't care, they were beyond caring. 

Two rights. A left. Right. Left left. Right. Straight down a corridor and stop at the side of side solid concrete cell doors. There's a series of locks and bolts. Steel eyes meet stormy grey and Bucky reels back his cybernetic limb, swinging forward so hard it had to jar his shoulder. But he just did it again and again, plaster and concrete dust showering his tact pants and sleeveless arms. Mia at his back, guns raised in either direction and ready to protect him. 

The first door was finally thrown to the ground. The thud sounding through blaring of gunshots ringing out. Mia's eyes flickering back and forth as she tried to take out both sides of the oncoming agents. She was running out of ammo, fast. 

The dusts clearing and Ward stepped out of the cell, coughing softly and his grin widening as he took in the sight before him. Relief flooding his features. His hands turned to tight fists and the knuckles cracked.

"Bout goddamned time Barnes." Bucky nodded, handed him the extra gun he had stashed in his waistband, his arm working on the second door. 

"We weren't sure you two were, you know.." Mia left it at that. Ward nodding his head and pocketing his gun, saving bullets before running forward and going hand to hand with the agents. Downing them easily enough but more were coming. He couldn't hold off an army.

"Need to move Buck," Mia growled and the second door was loosening. A shaking started to quake under their feet and the door was blow back, knocking Bucky back and into a crouch as Skye stalked out of the her cell, murder in her eyes and a bloodthirsty snarl on her lips. 

Skye looked extremely thin, what muscle tone she had was hard but that's all she had. Her hair cropped short and lifeless in brunette tangles as she raised a hand, quaking a line of men as they thundered down the hall. Their innards and hearts crushed like putty in her grasp. Those dark eyes met Mia's and there didn't need to be words said. The haunted look in her eyes matched Mia's after her time with Rumlow. They had both been torn apart at the very soul. Desperate for vengeance.

"Let's blow this place." Ward growled and they all took off, heading down halls and making their way to the training room that took up most of the floor. Heavy footsteps sounding behind them but Skye just threw her hand out and down they went in a few seconds. Helping aid the group in finding the large room, giving them precious moments to grab as much arsenal as they could while Bucky pushed the climbing wall back. The emergency exit door where it's supposed to be. 

Mia cinches the crossbows on her wrist, a half dozen clips locked into place on a harness carrying two .9 mills. Her waistband heavy with the weight of Bucky's favored mini machine gun, extra clips for him and a magnum pistol. Her mask and Bucky's were sitting there, on the clean table covered in gear and ammo and she froze. Refusing to want anything from this place, but they protected against gasses and bio warfare. Just in case. And the mask fit perfectly like it should, locking into place on her jaw. 

Her hand grabbed Bucky's own mask and giggles as she ran by Ward and Skye, both strapping on as much ammunition as they could carry for the rest of them. For a moment the tears wanted to break through, her friends, her family. Bucky? They were all out of the programming by the grace of God and they were escaping. But she pressed it down and locked it tight, kept that mask on her face much like the black mat one on her jaw. She could break down later, always later, but not right now. 

"Let's go." Ward shoved Skye toward the door and in seconds the wall was pulled back where it was supposed to be by a metal arm with the strength of thirty men. The door locked as it clicked shut and the four were enveloped in darkness only broken by a faded yellow light slowly flashing in the dark hall. 

Bucky's and Mia's goggles went into night vision mode with a tap on the side. Everything in their vision lit up with a green hue as Skye and Ward took the extra goggle sets Mia had shoved into her back pocket. And they were gone, four sets of heavy footsteps running down the dark halls of a forgotten escape route. 

\----

The hall had turned into a tunnel and a tunnel had turned into a rough natural cave and Mia couldn't help the dark sarcastic laugh as she thought of batmans batcave, hidden breath the mansion. All three gave her a look but no other reaction, at this point they were all on edge and ready to snap. 

There was nothing and no one waiting at the end of the tunnel. They had taken so many turns and had collapsed quite a few of the smaller parts of the caves. Making sure it would slow any down. The sun wasn't out, it was dark, a nearly full moon shining down and illuminating the thick forestry around them. Bucky and Ward went first, silently signaling for Mia and Skye to stay back. But they'd been through too much to even care about the men's protectiveness. They stalked out as well , taking in the trees and grounds.

The air was thick with humidity, large thick trunked trees were everywhere. Bushy, full canopies of leaves covered the air above them and vines were hanging from every available branch and trunk. Bucky's eyes scanned his surroundings, figuring out they had to be in a tropical place for the trees and air around them. His arm reached out and his hand gabbed Mia's, heading southwest. Ward and Skye following behind as they jumped over tree trunks and skidded around thick knots of roots and vines. Their shadows melding into the darkness and they vanished hours before Schmidt even figured out which old tunnel they had taken. 

\-----

Six days later and they were hundreds of miles from the base. Able to take a breath and take a small rest for the strength they needed to keep moving. They were at a standstill as what to do. Keep moving was all they could think and so they did, but where to? 

None of them knew how or where to contact Steve or even shield. They couldn't put a broadcast out online because hydra could and would decode anything out there. Heavily or moderately populated areas meant cameras and facial recognition. And the moment they were seen both forces would be after them, no one knowing who could come first. Their only real option was the wilderness, somewhere remote where them living off the land wouldn't be looked at strangely.

Bucky and Ward stood and watched over the girls as they slept, wrapped up together like they had been back at the farm, a tangle of hair and limbs as they clung to each other for safety. Both of them seeing just how gaunt and thin the others girl was under the armor and masks. Seeing the abuse and training done to them. The males talking in soft tones as what to do. Ward wanted to split up, Bucky though it idiotic. Hydra gets one of them, all three would come back to save the single. It would be redundant. 

"We can't go to Romania or Germany, too deep into their home turf." Bucky spoke.

"Then what the hell is this Barnes? We're in Brazil, that's about as far from their home country as you'll get." Ward growled low and was met by the angered eyes of Bucky. 

"I know. But this is just the place we were kept. They wouldn't keep up with the main bases, too risky. We need seclusion, deep wilderness."

"They'll look for us though."

"But In the cities first and then start branching out. We need to hurry and pick a spot, get moving." Bucky sighed, scrubbing a hand over his face and glancing over the sleeping girls. His whole entire life was half of that bundle of hair and limbs and the other half was Wards. They couldn't get caught again. They needed escape.

"Australia?" Ward asked.

"The arm, can't hide it in hot places. Colds better, layers. Hats and scarves won't be looked at strange." 

"Poland? Ice and snow."

Bucky shook his head. "Not enough forestry and what there is, is privately owned or government property."

"Russia's out. Greenland?" 

"Possibly. But they have a base there in the mountains. Wouldn't last too long."

"Fuck!" Ward whispered yelled and grabbed the longish hair on his head, ready to rip it out. "It's not like we could hide in Canada. Is too close to the U.S."

Bucky's sudden silence caught Ward to look up. Catching the blue eyes of Bucky's widen. "You're shitt'n me? Canada?"

Bucky nodded, his feet taking him into a fast pace as he went back and forth in front of Ward. Plans already forming in his head as how to get there and what they would need. His eyes searched the sky through the boarded up windows. His mind trying to figure out what town of the year it was and how long they had to make it halfway across the world before winter hit in the mountains. Nearly ten thousand miles.

"There's parts of the mountains unclaimed and left on their own. Most cabins built out there are for rich people and they only use them during the summer months because in winter it's too dangerous to go over the snow. Trucking and logging roads will be shut down most of the ice months too. Plenty of game." Bucky stopped, looking over his left shoulder at Ward. "It's our best chance."


	32. Chapter 32

32

It only took a few hours for Mia and Skye to both realize something very crucial, they hated boats. Both of them clinging sickly onto the side of the railing on the lower deck, wind whipping cropped hair as they spilled what little food they had eaten. Ward watching over them both as Bucky watched from the shadows, keeping them all safe as he scanned the perimeter with a deadly precision. 

Ward had found a fishing boat. Medium size, with no formal contracts. No ties to government or local markets. The boat travels around and sold whatever it could catch. No one would miss it if the Captain and his crew were suddenly gone. They were given jobs, Bucky and Ward helping the fishermen, while the girls offered to help cook. The captain had agreed, a portly fellow with a wide smile and kind eyes. He'd seen the ragged ways the girls had looked, the way both boyfriends had looked murderous at anyone looking toward them. He knew runaways when he sees them. 

Bucky knew they were relatively safe for the moment. The captain was kind, he didn't get a bad guy feeling from the old man. There were only two crew members with the captain. A couple of older men with wives and kids at home in faraway places. Good hardworking men who didn't bat much of an eye when the captain brought in the group of four. None of them held much love for any war through the years and they didn't feel like they had ulterior motives. But Bucky didn't trust anything or anyone. 

They were headed toward South America. A few thousand miles away from their destination in the Canadian alps. He knew they'd be safe there, at least for awhile. The mountains were treacherous when not navigated correctly. Full of wild game, Ward and Mia both having the innate skills of wilderness survival in their minds. Easy to protect and most importantly, the last place anyone would look. 

Mia slumped against the railing, losing her strength and Ward's arm encased her waist, hauling her back up on her shaky legs. In moments Bucky materialized from the shadows and picked her up, cradling her against his chest and melding back into the shadows. Back down the steps and into the sleep quarters where all four of them shared a double room. It was small and cramped, but they had very little and it was nothing new to them. Sharing a space brought them all comfort where being separated would bring them anxiety. 

Watching how the boat swayed in the waves Bucky walked forward and sat on the bed to the right side of the tiny room. It wasn't much, barely bigger than a twin but it was thick and covered in heavy blankets for the cold ocean nights. He grabbed a bottle of water from the shelf behind him and uncapped it, handing it to her as she blinked past the nausea and headache that had been plaguing her for days now. Skye had been sick as well since they started out but she was coming out of it, Mia wasn't.

"Come on babydoll, gotta drink somethin'." He chided her and got a grimace in response, she grabbed the bottle and sipped slowly, coughing when her throat constricted suddenly. 

"Bucky why am I like this? You and Ward aren't seasick and I got the serum too." She groaned, tucking her head of curling gold hair under his chin. Truthfully he wondered it himself. He, and now Ward, were impervious to simple sicknesses like this and others. Mia shouldn't be falling prey to it, at all. It worried him. 

"Don't know baby, you didn't get as much as me. Maybe Ward's just used to being on ships, too." It was all he could think to say. Mia didn't comment, simply curled back into him as Bucky pulled the rough heavy blanked over them. The rolling waves outside the boat rocking her to sleep in her state of fatigue. 

Ward and Skye joined them not long after. Skye, her own exhaustion catching up with her, fell quickly asleep in the dim room. The only light a soft yellow, covered bulb that half lit the tiny room. Ward's hand stroked a lock of Skye's unruly short brunette waves from her face. 

"Gonna be a long trip if they can't stop the sea sickness." Ward whispered into the room to Bucky. His metal hand, free of the glove now, pressed against Mia's cheek and felt the coolness of her skin.

"Ward?" His blue eyes looked up to Ward's own dark orbs. 

"Yeah man?" Worry etching his voice at the tiny terrified tremble in Bucky's voice.

"What if it's not sea sickness?" Bucky glanced down at Mia sleeping beside him. His mind counting back the days and weeks and he just knew. Knew what was wrong. 

Wards widened gaze locking onto his best friends peaceful face. "Shit... You don't think?" Bucky didn't respond, instead tucking the blanket tighter around Mia's side. "Fuck, Barnes. You can't be serious?"

"We need to get to Canada, as fast as possible."

\---- time skip curtesy of Loki ehehehe (you heard that in his voice didn't you darling?)

Three weeks later

The boat docked in the middle of the night, the captain's orders so his runaways could well, run away. The four thanked him, both Skye and Mia giving the old man a tight hug before vanishing into the night behind Bucky and Ward. The captain watched with sad eyes at the way those kids, in his eyes, had moved so fluidly. The way those girls eyes looked so haunted and terrified at every loud sound. It broke his heart, and he prayed for them to be safe. But maybe..

He walked down the darkened boardwalks to a pay phone, change clanging in the machine as he waited for the ringing to cease.

"Who is this?" Came the rough reply, heavy with sleep and that slight hint of a growl he remembered so well. An old smile slipped onto the old captain's face and he chuckled softly.

"Good to hear you're still kickin' Patch." He heard the rustling of sheets and covers, a soft moan from a woman and soft footsteps, the click of a heavy door closing. 

"Who is this?" The voice now heavier with the growl, animal like. Feral.

"It's George Williams, Patch. You know me like I know you."

It took a moment but there was a heavy breath exhaled and a grumble. "It's three am, what's wrong?"

He wouldn't call without a reason. Hell he hadn't said a word to the man in two decades now. His voice sounding like it hasn't aged a day. George was worried about those kids, acting like the whole world was against em. He hadn't seen, but they didn't seem like mutants, but you can never know by looks alone. 

"Got a group of kids I picked up from the Brazilian waters. Looked scared shitless and jumpin' at every sound. Just brought em over to South America."

"Mutants? Think they came from a lab somewhere?"

"Got no idea, didn't see nothin really. But they looked like hell, specially the girls, almost sticks an bones. Could be mutants, but Patch, they were scared. A kind of scared I ain't seen in a persons eyes since that day I found you floatin' in the Atlantic." 

There was silence. Then a heavy growling exhale and the sound of boots being thrown down on wooden floors. "Where'd you drop em off at and how long ago?" 

Williams sighed in relief and started to name off the port and which direction they headed. Followed by a description of all four of them. His voice growing tight at how they acted with a trained eye and wit about them. 

"Jesus, four of em? You think they're teenagers?"

"Maybe the girls, they looked young.."

"I'll find em if I can."

"I don't think they want to be found. That's what scares me Patch. They're running from something, something big."

"I'll do my best. This counts as your favor. You know that right?"

"Then it's a favor well spent. I'm old and don't need help anymore. Find them kids for me patch, make em safe. They're scared and running from shadows that ain't there."

Williams heard the click and a dial tone. Patch had hung up on him. He watched the waves roll lazily against the other boats moored at the dockyard. His mind wandered to Patch, the short months he'd spent with the man as he regained memories day by day until there was nothing but a messy jumble in his head. Patch had left, telling him to call if he needed him. William's didn't need Patch anymore than Patch needed Williams. 

But those kids? Maybe Patch could find em, help em. Sunken in eyes, going on fumes for what looked like months. They looked dead on their feet, mean and deadly. Running from shadows and leaves, from themselves. He didn't like it. Not one bit.

\------ three months after escape

They'd made it across America quickly once they got to the Mexican Texas border. Taking backroads, cars from impound lots and already abandoned on the roads. There hadn't been any mishaps yet. A couple close calls where maybe someone recognized one of them. But they'd taken precautions for that too.

Bucky's hair was longer, died a lighter shade of brown. Ward had taken a very light strawberry blonde color to his own. Skye cringingly took a box of dye and made Mia's yellow golden locks a deep dark black. None of them really liked it much but it made her much less noticeable. Skye used what was left and made her own brunette locks much darker. All of them looking just different enough to make someone looking for those looking to second guess the sighting.

Right now they were in a stolen pick up truck, cramped into the extended cab of the Ford. It was rusted and blue. But it was sturdy and the engine was good. Had four wheel drive and the heater worked great. They were already across the border into Canada. Skipping the main roads and finding a trucking road late at night. No one stopping them.

Ward was at the wheel for now, his eyes watching the long stretch of road before them. Gaze flickering to the bench backseat where Mia's head was laying on Skye's lap. The quaking girl softly running her hands through her friends now dark hair. Sitting in the passenger seat was Bucky, his head cocked to the side as broad chest softly moved with his breathing in a light doze. His bulking frame taking up a large part of the cab. 

Taking his eyes back to the road Ward couldn't help but wonder worryingly about Mia. She'd stayed sick on and off the entire time they had been on the run. He and Bucky had both talked it over privately a few times. The time frame matches up but it shouldn't have been possible. The dosage she was given after her stint with Rumlow had been given again after the night he'd been told to ... Bucky couldn't even say the damn word. But Ward could. Rape sounding loud and clear between them. It hadn't been, not really. But she'd been hurting still and he hated every second of it because they had been forced into it. Forced to do something private in front of cameras and locked in a cage like animals. 

They were surprised Mia hadn't said much about it. She wasn't acting as if she knew what could possibly be wrong with her. Skye hadn't said much either. They didn't pry or poke at her, but it was a worry to account for. And something they just couldn't deal with at the moment. 

"You're gonna have to get a test for her. Make sure." Ward whispered to Bucky once Skye had been asleep for half an hour. The sun started to lighten the horizon with pale pinks and lavenders turning into reds and oranges. Both girls would sleep for at least another hour or two.

"I know."

"Cause she's gonna freak out."

"I know."

"We can't take care of another one of us. We're spread too thin as it is."

"I know."

"You okay with this? If it's really happening?"

"I... Don't know."

"You're gonna have to, if there's a little plus on that thing."

Bucky growled softly, his metal hand creaking with the tight first it was making. "Ward? Shut up would ya?"

"Yeah, sure man." Ward fell silent for awhile, watched as the mountain peaks off in the distance looked tiny, blotted out by the rising red rays of the sun. But he couldn't let it go, he needed to ask. "You think it could be Rumlow's?"

Bucky didn't react like Ward thought he would. Instead of throwing a tantrum, punching Ward in the face even. Bucky blew a heavy breath out his nose and closed his eyes. 

"Doesn't matter, it's mine." He waited for more. "Family is more than blood." Bucky glanced at Ward, gazes meeting, a bond that had been forming silently and subconsciously for two years. Snapped into place, a bond exactly like what Steve and Bucky had. Now shared with Ward. 

"Thicker the blood." Ward agree and looked back to the road, cranking the heat up slightly to battle the chill coming in the cab. The winding road turning into highway and back to logging road over and over again. That rusted out Ford taking them higher and higher into the mountains. Into the safety they sought so hard.

\---

Dark amber eyes watched from behind The elderly man in a wheelchair. A solid 'x' in the wheels. Cyrebro working hard to find the 'could be' mutants he had started to look for. He'd tracked them clean up to to New York State and then lost the trail. He needed help. Because once the wolverine gets a whiff of the chase, it can't let it go easily. 

"I've found them. But only one is a mutant, the gene forced awake inside her I assume." The helmet was taken off and set on the control board. Old weathered eyes meeting determined amber. "The other girl has the gene but it's dormant."

"Where at Chuck?"

"They just crossed into Canada." Old lips smirked thoughtfully. "The very same road you use yourself."

"Thanks Chuck." He went to leave and stopped for a moment, Charles' voice sounding in his head.

-They fear what you fear, and there is more them then meets the eye. Help them-


	33. Chapter 33

33

The whether turned colder in just a few short days as they made it further into Canada. Mid fall was hitting and even though they had fought and trained in every scenario thinkable, the chill still set in their bones. A few discount stores later and all four of them were bundled tight in heavy winter coats and sweaters, thick woolen hats. The truck's back seat was nothing but blankets they had found and the few clothes left in a duffle under the seat. Next to a much fuller bag carrying all the weapons and ammunition left. Not much, but enough to feel that slightest bit safer. 

The mountains had started to grow around them, towering forces of nature guarding themselves with sharp crags, narrow winding roads, thick trees and icy snow. The heater cranked up, a bundle of blankets in the backseat, a crumpled deck of cards found in the glove box were between the dark haired girls. A simple game of 'go fish' between them. Long legs cramped and backs aching from the hard faux leather bench seats. To say they were getting a bit cramped and aggravated, would be an understatement.

Skye was the mouthy one, that was pretty obvious. Constantly jibbing at Ward, poking him in the neck or shoulder, being every bit a teenager she was a bit too old to act like. Mia would join in sometimes, but more often then not she would simply sleep, curl up against Bucky as he drove or in the back with Skye. 

Well, they thought she was sleeping sometimes. Mia knew something was wrong with her, and somewhere deep down she sort of had an idea about what it could be. But even her subconscious couldn't form the words, so she ignored it all. Instead sifting through memories of her brother, Clint and Natasha, Leo and the long hours spent rebuilding her car. 

Years she had spent in her near solitude at the farm were peaceful if not at times boring. The anxiety of the fall of Shield, the worry for her only family left. The dull ache in in her chest when her thoughts strayed to her long since gone brother, wondering if he was dead somewhere. Or if he simply forgot about her.

She relived through the early years, the abuse. Brought up the ghostly pain of the burns on her skin, now smooth and pale from the serum. Healing all the old scars that had riddled her back, legs and arms. The years had made them faint, barely there. Now nothing remained. The only scar she had that wouldn't heal itself was the teeth imprints on her neck, the ones Bucky had left. 

Thought over every hour of training. The reprimands and the daily taunts, unwanted touches and beatings from the guards and Rumlow's advances.

Rumlow... A fire rose in her body. Burning just inside until the thought of him made that fire into an inferno. A raging flame that wanted to consume and it took every ounce of willpower in her to push it down. She couldn't deal with the hatred, couldn't risk having a breakdown. So she kept pushing it down, burying it under thin soil. But that kind of anger, that kind of absolute rage, can only be held down for so long. Only for so long until finally, she breaks.

Voices brought her back to the outside world. A slightly chilled metal palm gently patting her cheek awake as another thick arm tightened around her waist. The familiar weight of Bucky's limb around her, pulling her up into a sitting position beside him in the backseat of the truck. His scent of Irish spring and gunpowder enveloping her senses as she came round to the real world. 

"Hey babydoll, we're gonna hit the pass in an hour or so. Stopping to get some supplies." Bucky spoke to her as she looked about the truck. Ward and Skye were in the front seat, Ward driving as Skye pulled on her fake jewelry. The heavy rings and bars in her nose and eyebrows. It was a good disguise. 

"M'kay. Whose going this time?" Mia yawned out, she hadn't been sleeping much. More of just, zoning out so heavily it was as if she was sleeping without the feeling of resting. It was wearing on her. 

"All of us this time. Ward and I are going for fuel and food. You and Skye go for the essentials. Blankets, clothes, stuff we'll need to last the winter." Mia nodded. They had collected a large collection of coolers from dumpsters and peoples trucks and campers who wouldn't notice till too late. They had them ready and waiting for the final stop before the pass. Not to mention the six fuel containers filled to the brim with gas for the truck. 

Bucky and Ward had talked and talked with bar flies and old drunks through their travels across Canada. Getting info on which pass was best and where they could find property for sale up in the higher mountains. Anything they could get their hands on before winter hit, discreetly. They were trying to be as prepared as possible. They had the training and the know how. It was doing it and not getting caught the problem.

"Alright, hand me the glock." Mia held out her palm and a moment later the heavy weight of the gun was in her hand and she shoved it neatly into the waistband of her thermal jeans. Her oversized red sweater covering it neatly. 

"Be careful." Bucky snuck a heavy lipped kiss to her temple and she climbed out of the truck. Side by side with Skye as She pulled on a deep grey beanie hat to cover her eyes a bit and hide her hair. 

Bucky watched with a sharp eye until they both vanished into the small supplie store attached to the gas station. Turning he pulled back the tarp from the bed of the truck, uncovering the fuel tanks and coolers. There wasn't much in the latter, they had been waiting for the last stretch of road before their destination for gathering large amounts of food and supplies. 

The two girls didn't talk much as they glanced around the store. It was a bit dusty, most of the goods already bought earlier in the year. It would be strange for them to be buying the essentials so late in fall but not too strange. Skye started gathering coats and clothes and things like socks. Mia taking a turn to the left, grabbing two small baskets and filling them to the brim with basic toiletries for the four of them. Her eyes skirted over to food section and a sigh wanted to leave her lips. There wasn't much for sale.

Pursing her lips Mia made her way to the counter withh Skye, both their arms loaded down with items. She motioned for Skye to go get what was in the coolers and bring up, they needed something to start off with at least, while Mia smiled politely and spoke to the cashier. An older man with salt and pepper beard and hair, every inch of him covered in flannel and plaid and jeans. An honest smile and kind eyes. Mia didn't trust it one bit. 

She paid with a jumble of wadded up cash, took the change and helped Skye lug everything out to the truck. Packing it in the already cramped interior. A bout of nausea hitting her before the last bag made it into the backseat. Her hands hit the icy, salty mix in the gravel and scrapped the inside of her palms. Back heaving in a dry wretch because she hadn't kept anything down in two days now. Her throat feeling as if someone was scrubbing it with a wire brush meant for grill cleaning. 

Bucky's presence was beside her almost instantly, his hands holding back locks of her dyed hair from her face as she gasped for breath. Her fingers clawed into fists on the ground, the burning of the salt in the scratches bringing the rage down inside her. She knew exactly what was wrong with her. Her mind coming to grips with how her body was acting when she shouldn't be acting that way at all. 

Her jeans were damp now from the snow and ice. The salt covering the ground would stain the knees of the jeans and make it sprayed with white and grey spots. That's all she let herself think about, pushing down that resentment. Focusing on the world around her now and not what was happening inside. The feel of Bucky's arms as he pulled her up. The concern and worry on Skye's kind face. How Ward offered her a bottle of water which Bucky took without looking. The love in all their faces. That's what she focused on. Her friends, her family.

She's drawn attention. The shopkeeper coming outside in the frozen air. A simple wave from Bucky with an explanation that didn't reach Mia's ears. Skye hopping into the backseat with her but her head shaking and her arms almost childishly reaching out for Bucky. The two switched and truck doors slammed. The gas station nothing but a dark blur that dematerialized into the white nothingness of the Canadian mountains. 

"Are you alright?" Bucky whispers into her hair, her hat had fallen off at the station as she wretched onto the gravel. She kind of misses it, it was warm.

"M'fine Buck." Mia lied , instead of looking at the worry on his face she simply curled into his side under a thick blanket. Refusing anymore prodding by pretending to sleep. Until exhaustion hit her and she was out, lost to the world in dreamless slumber. 

Bucky glanced up into the rear view mirror, locking stormy greys with dark eyes. The pass was close, maybe four or five hour drive from here. Once they got through that then they were home free. Bucky couldn't be relieved until Mia was safe in that cabin. His metal hand reached down, curled around her hip and propped her up against him. Using his arm as a bar to hold her up comfortably as he could in the cramped backseat.

\---

Logan was a day away from the cabin. Maybe two at the most, if the roads permitted. His old truck knew the curves and dips like his mind knew which way the snow piled and how the wind pushed over snow from the trees onto the road. Charles had told him these kids were smart, finding the safe house by word of mouth. A mutant friend of the professors sending word that some runaways looked scared and he had sent them toward to the pass. Hoping he could help.

"We'll find em sugar." Marie spoke from the passenger side of the cab, her smile bright and hopeful even though she knew everything could go bad just as easily as they can go good. 

He gave no response other then a low grumble growl, his arm reaching out to pull her closer by the belt loop of her pants to his side. Curling her to him as she reached out and cranked the heat up. The lines of fir trees and pines covered in snow past by in a blur as he drove up to the cabin. Hoping, praying, he'd make it in time.

Because of the Professor was right. This girl's mutant gene was days away from manifesting. It could be anything and it could possibly kill the others if she didn't know what was about to happen. Problem was, Professor X was rarely ever wrong.

\----

Late afternoon sunlight shone off the snow and ice, making everything brighter as the truck rounded the last bend in the gravel road. The trees were thick here, the end of the drive nearly invisible where it branches off from the main highway. All four sets of eyes close to the windows as the road ended into a dirt drive. Another hundred feet to a lean to and a small cabin set into the mountainside. Hidden by thick trees and brush. It was hard to spot by the naked eye.

Ward and Bucky both motioned for the girls to stay in the cab of the truck. Both of them vanishing in opposite directions to check out the surrounding area and then into the cabin. It took twenty minutes , Skye and Mia both chewing on their nails as they waited for them to return to the truck. 

The silence rang loud around them. Mountain wind whipping the trees and limbs about, shaking snow from needles to blow like white dust. The truck was quiet, engine shut off and the chill was seeping into the rusted cab. Training or no training, you can't stop the inert worry of women for the only men they've ever loved and trusted to return safely to them. 

Dark blurs came toward the truck, the wind whipping up snow and the sunlight was fading fast. Mia clicked the safety off the glock in her hand. The door was pulled open and Bucky raised an eyebrow at the gun pointed to his chest. Her finger flicked over the safety and she grinned at him, leaping out of the truck and wrapping her body around him in a bear hug. 

"Someone's feeling better." He whispered into her ear, sighing in relief at her sudden energy and held her tight to him in his thick arms. 

"Hush, it was just nerves." She jumps down from him, booted feet sinking the few inches into the early snow. She turned and started gathering their things and supplies. Bucky's eyes watching her for a moment before doing the same. 

The cabin was small but not tiny. It had two small rooms, an open kitchen and den and two fire places on either side of the wall. Keeping the entire place warm, once they started a fire. Bucky set to work going over what weapons they had left and collected over the past days on the road. Ward set to getting the fireplaces going for heat while Skye and Mia walked around, seeing what was in the closets and cabinets. 

Once the warmth was setting in everyone shredded their layers of coats and scarves. It was easy to curl up in the blankets in front of the fireplaces. They didn't care the floor was dusty or that they had no idea how to turn on the electric. If the water pipes were frozen or not. It didn't matter. For once they felt safe and could relax.

So for tonight they curled up against the heat at their backs, welcoming the warmth they couldn't enjoy for years now. Ward and Skye already deeply asleep across the room, nestled together in a heap of blankets and coats. Skye nearly laying on top of Ward with his arms wrapped tight around her thin frame. She really needed to gain some weight.

On the other side of the room Bucky sat on watch, Mia curled against his side as he kept awake by gently running his flesh hand over her side. She was sleeping soundly against him, her breathing slow and even. Her fingers wrapped into his sweater tight and strong. 

His hand slowed in its travels, brow furrowing. Gently as he could, slow as possible, his fingers spread and moved over her warm skin. Her red sweater moving up slightly as his fingers traveled to her stomach. A tiny bit of pressure from his fingers and she felt... Solid. Bucky's heartbeat sped up a tick. Palm flat on her lower abdomen. Just the slightest raise of flesh, solid and warm under his hand. 

Stormy eyes close and his arm tightens around her, refusing to let her go. His whole life was one fuck up after another. Murders and killings day after day for years. He was nothing but the blackest black of shadows and her? She was the bright sun that shoved them all away and into hiding. Just with that lopsided smile and flash of steel in her eyes. This shouldn't be happening to her. 

He counted back the days, the weeks, the months. And the proof was under his palm, growing inside her body. God, he didn't know what to do. But one thing was certain, they'd have to at least talk about it, soon. He wasn't getting any sleep tonight. His palm and hand wandered subconsciously, roaming over her stomach. Over the life he hoped, HE had help create.

\---

Logan stopped the truck just inside the pass, the snow was just starting to pile and he had some trouble getting up a few slopes. But he had done it. They had lost some hours with a random wind storm, had to pull over and wait it out. It had cost them time, but now the sun was beginning to peak over the mountain tops. They could get moving.

He didn't want to surprise these kids. They were highly trained. Even he had trouble tracking them, and he had the nose for it. He worried he wasn't just after kids on the run. More like people running from the big bad. Marie could hold her own, but these ones would use guns first and ask questions later. Her skin invulnerable and bullet proof. Hopefully, they'd see Marie and back off long enough for him to talk to them. It was of the utmost importance that he got them back to the mansion, before the girl manifested.


	34. Chapter 34

34

Early morning in the mountains was a sight. The colors of the sun coming over the white capped peaks in the far distance. The breeze that was always flowing, dislodging chunks of ice and snow that had settled in the night. The quiet where few birds dared to chirp, disturbing that calm of the early morning. 

The cabin was warm, fires stoked in the night by the soldier as he watched over his friends, his girl. His family. Watched over them in their exhausted slumber as his mind wandered and blanked simultaneously. He worried about their safety. What they were to do about the cabin and how to survive the winter. He worried about his girl, the one laying in a heap of blankets beside him. The one whose stomach his hand had refused to stop touching in the night. The evidence of their love right there, just barely there under his palm. Hiding under the too big men's red sweater, few buttons open at the neck. 

Mia breathed in a sharp breath, back arching and head rolling back as her arms stretched over her head in a full body stretch. His lips curled into a smile as she relaxed and hummed softly to herself. He loved how she woke up in the mornings or from a nap. Always enjoying that last moment of rest before she opened her eyes and faced the day. Always with a small smile on her lips while her arms would wrap around him. Never caring he was a monster.

"Hey baby." He leaned down and whispered against her lips in a soft good morning kiss. Her lips warm and lush against his own. 

"Mnn, morning darlin'." Her arms wrap around his neck and lifts her up into his lap as he sits up, lips and tongue exploring the other's as they held onto each other. Breaking away softly , foreheads touching as she caught her breath, heat rising flush in her skin. "Really good morning."

Bucky smiled, hauled her up to her feet and ruffled her dyed dark hair, missing the bright gold yellow color it used to be. He doesn't say a word, just hands her the thick black coat she's been wearing and pulls on his own coat. Opening the door for her and they both walk out onto the small porch. His hand slipping his magnum into the waist of his pants. 

The bite of the cold air taking their breath for a moment as the door clicked shut behind them. Her eyes took in the scenery around the cabin. The white snow and the green trees. The mountains surrounding them. His arms slipped around her waist and arms, holding her tight to him as they both looked out across the mountaintops.

"We need to talk about somethin', okay?" He speaks into her neck, his eyes closed as he gathers the courage to tell her his thoughts. But she sends him reeling like she always does.

"I'm pregnant, aren't I?" She whispers instantly into the quiet wind. He almost hadn't heard, her soft voice steady but so quiet it was hard to tell she had spoken at all. But her back tensed and her right hand landed slowly on her lower abdomen. He could feel the tremble in her chest and back as she held back the tears and sobs threatening to come out. She was cracking.

"Babydoll..." His arms tightens around her, holding her up as she wants to fall down. Keeping her together as she starts to break apart. "I love you, I love you so much." He whispers over and over to her as she falls apart in his arms. 

"What if it's not.." 

He snarls out an inhuman sound and his arms become a bruising force around her, keeping her lips pressed tight so she won't finish that sentence.

"Don't you dare think it matters to me. That I would even care at this point about that. Your mine." His metal hand pressed down on top of her right one that was still clutching at her abdomen. "This? This is ours. Nothing's gonna ever change that." 

She turns in his arms, opening her mouth to say something through the tears spilling down her chilled flushed cheeks. But she can't say anything. There's a sound of tires in snow and an old engine coming up the drive. In seconds whatever was being said or unsaid would have to wait, because they weren't a couple anymore, the were soldiers. Bucky pulled the magnum from his jeans, flicked off the safety and waited. 

Mia dashed inside, throwing the blankets off of Ward and Skye. "Trouble." That's all that needed said and the two were moving. Ward grabbing his own guns and a blades quickly, his lips found Skye's temple for a brief second before he vanished out of the door. Mia and Skye dashed to the table where all the weapons they had lay. Crossbows locked tights onto wrists, blades shoved into waistbands and guns loaded with heavy clips. 

Ward had vanished, lost in the trees and Bucky was right after him the moment Mia and Skye made it onto the porch. Both of them the best at hiding in any scenery as both girls covered their weapons with their coats sleeves, both sets of eyes watching as the truck made it way up the drive and into view. There were two figures in the truck cab, one big one smaller. Male and female. 

Mia prepared for a fight, her body tensing in ways a warriors would before a battle. The shoulders taut, fingers twitching. Feet shoulder width apart and planted firmly to either dodge, run or take off. Eyes narrowing and taking in any minute detail she could see. Calculating plans and strategies on autopilot. Her fingers itching at her side to let loose the the crossbow hidden in the sleeves of her sweater. The creak of old truck doors signaling the figures inside stepping out into the snowy landscape. 

He was a bit taller, about Ward's height, but burly and massively muscled. Arms and legs banded tight in flannel and jeans. Wild dark hair sticking up at all angles, bright amber hazel eyes flicking about, landing on her form and locking into place. A hunters glance. A predators glare. Mia had seen that look before. The wolf pelt hanging above her fireplace at the farm. The bright eyes of a savage animal staring back with bared teeth and sharp claws. 

Her eyes flashed to the woman coming out of the truck. Tall and lithe, with shocking green eyes that shone bright. Her hair was a dark chocolate, braided to the side with a blazing white stripe melding into it. She held herself tall and proud, strong. Mia looked her over but focused back on the man just five yards away from her and Skye. Seeing the imminent threat, she thought. 

Mia was silent, waiting as the man shut the truck door with a soft slam. His gaze still locked tight onto her own steel orbs. "Morning kid. We ain't here to hurt ya or rat ya out. Here to help." His hands were at his sides, fingers loose but curled. Ready to tighten into fists, wrist turned inward.

She didn't need anything else, the crossbow clicked into place and aimed at both of them. Skye's hand was up but she also had a pistol on her left hand. And both knew the boys were hidden in the trees with sights aimed as well. They worked well together. They were a unit, unbreakable. 

"Easy, kid, easy." The man held up his hands higher, placating. The woman taking hers of out her pockets and palms facing forward. "Name's Logan. This is Rogue." He motioned to his companion and Mia's fingers itches the let loose a slew of arrows. Wanting to see the snow run red. 

"Who sent you?" Skye's voice rang out, Mia couldn't speak. If she spoke she wouldn't be able to stop the words. Or the arrows. "We don't want any trouble." Her hands steady as she watched Mia from the corner of her eye, saw the bloodlust start to seep into her steely blue and change her eye color darker.

"It's alright kids, okay? We want to help but we're on a timer. Somethin' bad's bout to happen and we got to get you somewhere safe." An arrow landed with a loud thunk a mere inch from his hip, sunk into the metal of the truck's hood.

"Explain yourself. One minute and the next ones in your throat." Mia snarled out. Her right wrist poised and pointed at exactly where she said. Her aim was ready, accurate and she never missed. 

"Jesus sugar you're just scarin' 'em!" Rogue walked forward a step, smile bright and kind on her face. Gentle, calm. As if she was approaching a wild animal. She really was. "It's okay. We're from Xavier's school for gifted youngsters. We take in mutants and help those in need."

"The fuck? Mutants?" Mia growled out. Her anger rising with the tension in her limbs. Everyone could sense it, the fury rolling from her in waves. "We ain't mutants."

"Actually you two are. You carry the gene. Buy you are sugar." Rogue spoke, looking toward Skye whose hand faltered and lowered slightly, her eyes widening. "You make the earth shake don't you? Make vibrations in the air turn against people. Make hearts and brains turn into mush all without barely movin' can't you." It wasn't a question, it was a statement. 

"The fuck are you talking about? And what kind of fucking name is Rogue?" Mia stalked a step forward. Felt the familiar shadow fall into step at her back and to the left. Smirked a horrid smirk as Rogue's face faltered and she tensed her legs. Loved how the man, Logan, how he stepped back in disbelief at the form behind her. Bucky was a force to never be reckoned with.

Rogue took it in stride, though she did try to subtly move toward Logan a step or two. "A name I gave myself when the world threw me out on the street. Look honey, we want to help. We really, truly do. The school's safe from Hydra and anyone else on your radar. We can call up your a avenger's and get y'all home. Okay?" 

She spoke in a low tone, her hands raised in a calming gesture but she kept backing up. Until she was close to Logan, his arm slowly coming up to push her half behind him. And Mia just kept glaring, just keep letting that anger rise up inside. Something was building and building and she couldn't stop it now. Her eyes burned and she could feel her chest rising and falling in ragged breaths.

"Marie get behind the truck..." Logan growled low. "She's bout ta snap."

"Baby, clam down." She could feel Bucky turn and face her, tucking his chin down to meet her eyes. Eyes she could only see with a lavender haze in her vision. Noticing it finally she gasped for breath, her knees becoming weak and Bucky grabbed her before she slumped down. Her chest aching for breath and eyes on fire.

"Breath doll, breath with me." And she did. Taking deep breaths with him, calming herself from whatever was going wrong. His scent of gunpowder and metal calming her more than the breathing. 

Then it was gone. The fire in her eyes cooling. The raging inferno inside rolling down into a clam flickering flame. Her feet found the ground and she stood but Bucky refused to remove his arms from around her. Instead shoving her behind him and training his magnum at Logan. Eyes hard and arm steady. 

"The fuck is going on. What did you do?"

"Look just come with us so we can help her! If she manifests out here she could kill you. All a' you. She's got a mutant gene and it's coming out, soon." Logan growled and stepped forward, the safety clicked off. Eyes narrowing at the figure in front of him. "We ain't here to kill you. We're trying to save you, dammit!" 

Mia was left alone as Bucky stalked forward, close enough to place the barrel of the gun mere inches from Logan's forehead. "Stay the hell away from my girl. Get away from my family. I will shoot you dead and never feel any guilt about it because I'll be keeping them safe." The barrel pressed into Logan's forehead and the older man decided to not quip back. He knew an unstable and bloodthirsty soldier when he saw one and this just happened to be the one legends were told about.

"We're just here to help." Rogue spoke up softly. Her right hand slowly reaching to her belt buckle, pressing the hidden button on the side that would signal the team to come in. 

"If we leave, your girl could die from the power inside her." Logan said slow and even, eyes unwavering as the gun was pressed harder into his forehead. He'd felt the bite of a bullet to his skull before, it hurt and he'd be out for at least two minutes.but if he could save these kids it would be worth the ache.

"The baby, too." Logan whispered after a moment. And as the words left his lips he knew he'd won this soldier over. The safety of his girl and their family was of the upmost importance to the man in front of him. Logan knew the moment he'd stepped out of the truck. The scent of new life and hormones starting to waft from the steel eyed girl with the crossbows. She wasn't far along but enough to make her scent change. 

A click of the gun and Bucky pulled it back, hand wanting to shake as he stared at the man in front of him. Shock evident on his and everyone else faces. Rogue gasped, a hand flying to her mouth.

"Well that just makes this all the more fun." Heads turned but it was too late. A round of shots went out before any even registered Rumlow stalking in from the tree line. Pistol aimed. Bucky and the others looked around for wounds but felt nothing. 

Turning, Bucky saw Mia standing not four feet from him. Her face frozen and growing pale. Hands trembling as they reach to her stomach where red was staining her sweater a darker maroon. A cough erupted from her lips spraying blood into the snow in front of her and she dropped to her knees as if In slow motion. Strong arms wrap around her, laying her down on the icy ground as she coughed up more blood, dripping down her lips. 

"Waste of resources and serum." Rumlow grinned out, aiming at Rogue now with his gun. Finger pulling the trigger and bullet flying. Only for it to bounce off her throat as if nothing but a fly had touched her.

Rogues eyes shone brighter, tears filling her eyes as Mia grasped at her stomach to staunch the heavy bleeding. The girls eyes glazing with that tell tale sign of weakness. Rogue's own anger showing as booted feet rose from the ground several inches. 

"That tickled...." And she shot at Rumlow like a bullet. Her fist socking him square on the jaw, the crunch of bones sounding loudly as she threw him to the ground, relishing in how his legs made a squishing crack.

She left him to Bucky and Logan and Ward. All three men circling the man as he coughed up blood on the ground, his lips curling into a smile as he laughed through it all. Marie bolted to the girls side, Skye pressing down on the still flowing blood. Now her own hands covered in the sticky red flow as they joined Skye's hands. 

"Fuck ....that hurts..." Mia grasped and clutched weakly at her abdomen, the pressure an agony in her entire body. 

"Shhh shhh cowgirl, you got this. You got the serum. You're gonna be okay." Skye mumbled more to herself then to Mia. She was covered in the red pouring out of her best friend, from fingertips to elbows. Tears falling down her paled cheeks. 

Mia felt it. That fire inside her. It was slow burning and flickering. Waiting. Waiting to be unleashed and show what power it had within her. Her glazed eyes turned to watch as Rumlow was lifted up by his shirt. Ward and Logan holding him up on broken legs as Bucky gave him punch after punch. The evil son of a bitch laughing the entire time. Taunting them still. 

She couldn't take it. Not anymore. And she felt the fire start to grow. Enveloping her in an electric almost energy. Her vision filtered like through lavender lenses and her hand raised, pushing Skye away. Before Skye could push back, Rogue's hands wound around her arms and she was pulled back by strength she'd never felt before in her life. Coming from this girl the same size as her. 

Skye's eyes watching as Mia sat up on her elbow, left arm raised toward the fighting men. It happened as time slowed down, Mia's once bright steely blue eyes shifting to a deep, dark purple. As if a glow had started and was flowing out of her vision. Her raised hand trembling only the slightest started to steady itself as she breathed in a deep breath. 

The arrow she let loose glowing the same deep purple as her eyes. And it landed right in Rumlow's left eye socket. The man went slack as the arrow sunk into his brain. A spray of blood hitting Bucky diagonally across the face as he stood in shock. Logan shoving him out of the way and onto the ground milliseconds before the body they knew as Rumlow exploded into nothing but flesh and mushed organs. 

All five of the people around her turned as Mia sunk onto her side. A cough erupted from her chest and she sprayed blood across the white snow where she hadn't already bled before. Her eyes returning to that familiar cool blue as she locked eyes with Bucky's quickly approaching form. 

"Mia?! Mia!!" Bucky grabbed her up in his arms, metal hand pressing on her stomach but she had lost so much blood already. The dirt and snow around her nothing but a morbid pool of the life force pouring from her body. "Come on baby, talk to me please." 

Her hands that had started to clutch onto his bloodied coat went slack. Losing their grip and the breath in her lung finally have out, leaving a soft huff of air to come and no more to fill them. Her eyes shutting as the strength she had left released it's hold on her and she went lax against Bucky's embrace.

"No.... No no no.... No no no, no no no no... NO!!" Bucky shook and pleaded. Prayed to the god he knew as a child and to ones he'd never considered. Then cursed them all again in every language he had locked into his mind. 

Ward and Skye stayed back, just out of reach. Strength leaving their bodies and knees meet the hard frozen earth beneath them as they fell to the ground wrapped up together. Their best friend, their sister. Lay unmoving in Bucky's arms, pale as the snow and covered in her own blood. And the blood of the innocent lost because of Rumlow's sadistic ways. 

Logan held Marie back. He knew his Mississippi mate wanted to comfort the man in the snow holding his lifeless love. His silence now terrifying the man who had been through so many wars and strife and torture. Logan sniffed the air, expecting it to be heavy with the scent of death and early decay. But it was only slight, the life lost too early. Her scent was still there but weakening in the frozen air.

"Check for a pulse!" Logan growled and pulled out his communicator from his pocket. Handing it to a shell shocked Rogue. "Call for Storm and the jet, make sure Hank and Jean are ready for gunshot victim, now!"

Logan gently by quickly approached the man that was on his knees. Head to toe in blood as he continued to clutch onto the still girl in his arms. "Listen, listen okay?" 

It took Bucky a moment to come out of his red hazed fog, but when he did he did as asked and listened. His fingers found a small wrist and there, just barely there. Was the beating of her heart. "Jesus...."

"She's ain't outa the dark yet. Jets comin'. We're gettin you kids out of here before anymore death comes this way."


	35. Chapter 35

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So I realized that my ending was longer than planned, much longer. So you guys are gonna get a few extra chapters, woo!
> 
> Ps sad chap

35

 

Bucky was a strong man. He had the power of thirty men and then some, without including his bionic arm. When he wanted to , he could knock down practically any obstacle in his way. An army of men? Done. One short curvy young woman? Piece of cake. Wrong. This Rogue woman, who was sometimes called Marie by the people around them and Logan. Had both his arms trapped behind his back in a grasp like a steel pipe winding around his wrists and forearms. This girl was insanely strong, stronger than the hulk and even Thor. 

But he still struggled and snarled. Doing everything in his power to get through that door across from him. The one they had carted Mia through on a gurney and slammed the door shut before he could follow. He had raised one fist and before he could land a blow on the door his arms were behind him. 

"Easy sugar. I know you wanna be with her, but you gotta let them work okay? Hank, he's the big blue guy. He's one of our resident doctors. Big hands but they're steady and gentle as ladybugs." Rogue spoke softly from behind him. Trying to calm his nerves he knew, but he hated being restrained and waiting behind a closed door. His girl was in there. His life. 

"And Jeany, she's a telepath but amazingly smart. She pulled bullets out of Logan and the others loads of times." He could hear the tremor in her voice, the way her presence shifted behind him. They'd lost friends before and learned from the experience. 

"Just let me in there, that's my girl!" Bucky snarled and Ward appeared before him. His eyes filled with the man before him, tears running down Grant's own dirty cheeks.

"Barnes you got to calm down or they won't be able to help her! Please just take a breath, okay?" Ward pleaded softly, he never spoke in a gentle tone, never. And Bucky could hear the fear in his friends voice. He took a deep breath in and let it out in a long huff from his lips. 

"That's my girl.. Mia... " Bucky's arms were released slowly and his fingers fisted into the hair on his head. Wanting to rip it all out. "Jesus and the baby..... Fuck... Ward, that's my kid too!" Bucky groaned out a chocked sob and dropped to his knees there on the white tiled floor. Drops of blood from Mia's body littering the pristine floor with their deathly color. 

"I know man, I know." Ward's hand clapped I got Bucky's shoulder and squeezed in silent comfort. There were no words to say that could make this any better. His sister was in there, losing her life and not just her own. 

Bucky stayed like that for an hour. Neither Ward nor him moved from that spot. Skye paced back and forth at the end of the hall. Away from Bucky's sight but she could still see them both. Her own worry causing her to clamp down on her powers so she wouldn't quake the whole place down. 

And then another hour passed. And another. Bucky somehow got the strength to pace again and was doing just that. His legs taking him back and forth and back again. Over and over. Foot in front of foot. Ward watched from against the wall, his expression dark as the woman and man from earlier that morning came down the hall, Skye molding to his side on instinct.

"How's he doin sugar?" Rogue, Marie?, asked Ward who merely shrugged and gestured to the still pacing metal armed super soldier. The man nothing but a mass of distress and anxiety. They could see how bad off Bucky was but there was no amount of consoling to fix it. 

-Logan? Could you ask Sergeant Barnes to come up to my office please, I have news of her condition-

Charles' voice sounds gently in Logan's head and the male grumbles but makes no comment. He knows if Charles tried that trick with the soldier they'd all be on the floor in a pool of blood. 

"Hey kid, professor wants to see you." Logan waited for a reaction but the poor man just kept pacing, as if he hadn't heard Logan's words. It's possible he really hadn't heard, his mind numb to his surroundings. 

Logan moved slowly, till he was in the way of Bucky's pacing path. Making the man stop in his movements. His eyes met Logan's. A bloodshot fear filled gaze that was dulled and glasslike, any moment ready to shed tears. A broken man was standing in front of Logan. Looking like Logan had after this third or forth time he'd tried to end his own life and realized his healing was too great to let him die. 

"Hey kid? Ya hear me? The professor wants to talk to you for a minute." Bucky's eyes traveled to the still closed door where Mia was behind. "Hey kid, hey it's alright. We got the best docs on hand and your girls gonna be alright." Logan said softly and he saw the minute drop in Bucky's shoulders. Heard the shallow breath let loose from lips.

Bucky took a moment but he followed behind Logan and rogue for a few feet before stopping in front of Ward. There were a few silent tense moments between them before Ward stood straight from the wall and clasped wrists. Metal and flesh meeting into a shake of brotherhood .

"I won't leave her Barnes," Ward whispered gently. Bucky nods tersely and turns back, following Logan and Rogue into the pristine elevator with the 'X' across the doors. Vanishing into the massive mansion with the two. 

The elevator ride was swift and quickly they ended up in a long hallway. Red maroon carpet and mahogany wood walls. Large picture windows littered one side of the hall and at the end were large wooden double doors. Every corner, baseboard and doorframe was intricately and hand carved. Beautiful craftsmanship that showed the wealth and taste of the owner of these halls. Very different to the underground base.

Logan rapped on the large doors and simply opened them up after a half beat. As if he had listened for an answer. One that Bucky couldn't hear. The doors pushed open and the three walked inside. 

Bucky focused on the much older man in the wheelchair. The chrome head and weathered eyes. The thin long fingers connecting to knuckles and the way he smiled sadly, kindly , at Bucky. Giant 'X' making up the spokes in the wheels of his chair. The multitude of pictures surrounding the desk, most of them with himself as some form of participant in the photo. 

"Hello Mr. Barnes. I'm professor Charles Xavier. I run this school and the team of people who helped you and your friends today." Charles started and got a curt nod in response. He didn't need telepathy to feel the tension running off of this man. 

"I wish we could become more acquainted on better circumstances, but I believe the love of your life is down in the emergency surgery room." He saw the plates twitch of metal fingers before they became a fist at Bucky's side. 

"I will be frank Mr. Barnes. Mia is in critical condition," Bucky's other hand twisted into a fist and a very subtle low growl came from his lips. Charles continued, "Because of what was done to her body early on she will heal from this horrible act done to her. But the infant... I am sorry but the infant was already gone before we started the surgery." 

There's a beat before Bucky slumped back into the overstuffed leather chair behind him. Barely staying in the seat as his hands gripped chunks of hair on his head. A subtle shake of his shoulders showing just how hard he was holding himself back right now. How he wanted to roar and shout and bash and destroy anything in his path. His entire world was shattering around him like a hammer thrown onto the display case holding his soul.

A soft gasp comes from the grieving man and he released his rumpled hair to look up slightly and meet the professors sympathetic gaze. He couldn't feel angry at this point, if it wasn't for this man , his girl would be dead. They lost the baby, the little one that had just started to show its life growing. It's life avenged too quickly. But now he was desperate for Mia to be alright .

"Is my girl gonna be okay?" He whispered pleadingly and Charles' old heart twisted at the sight before him. 

"I believe she will heal in time yes. Because of her accelerated healing and her strong will to stay by your side." Charles gave a small twitch of the lips as a smile and Bucky have a soft scoff, covering his face with his metal fingers. 

"Gonna get her killed, being with me. And near has already..." He growled out .

"I believe you are wrong. Mia is a strong willed young woman but her insecurities and anxieties kept her from her true potential as a person. With you by her side, she's so much more than she could have ever imagined."

"She's a killer because of me. I made her into what she is, dangerous. I taught her how to kill with nothing but her bare hands. To be silent and deadly. She's my mirror image and I'm a monster professor Xavier." Bucky took a deep breath and stood, his hair covering his eyes and gaze dark. 

Charles went to interject but Bucky ignored him. "If you don't mind professor, I'm truly grateful for your help and what your doing for my girl. But the moment she's well again were leaving. No place is safe from the people following us and I don't want that type of heat on your school."

"Would you like me to contact Mr. Stark? I'm sure I could find Mr. Rogers for you. Surely you'd be safe with your own team?"

Bucky let out a heavy breath and closed chis eyes, metal hand all that's holding him up against the doorframe for the moment. His heart heavy like a cement block sewn into his chest. "With all due respect sir, they're better off without any of us near them. We'll be gone as fast as possible." And he was gone, back to the same elevator and back to his girl. 

Logan clicked the door shut and turned to face Charles. The old man had turned his chair to look out over the grounds from the large bay window in the office. 

"Kids' need a real home. Not hiding in a hole God knows where and livin' on scraps." Logan mumbled, taking the offered glass of scotch from the professor who was pouring himself one as well. 

"I certainly agree Logan, truly I do. But these 'kids' are nearly fully grown adults. They had those years taken from them, stolen that youth that they had." Charles linked his fingers together under his chin and contemplated the options while the younger children played in the garden. 

"Charles we can't let em leave. That girl, God tha' poor girl. She just lost her baby. Killed a man and had her powers emerge all in a day." Marie choked at that one bit and Logan's arm wrapped around her, pulling her into his side. He knew she felt that pain herself. Being invulnerable was more curse than a blessing to his own mate. 

"I understand my dear, I do, but have you seen this group? They have been forced under orders for so long. There's no trust in anyone but themselves and the ones closest to them. We can no more force them to stay then we could ask the sky to change from blue to pink."

"We got to do something? We can't let him take her when she's only just started healin." Rogue went again and Logan's arm tightened around her, all three of them could hear the tremor in her small voice. 

"Perhaps we can convince the other two? Skye and Ward, I believe. Maybe they can persuade James to stay and let Mia heal." Charles turned his chair and looked at both Rogue and Logan. The love that they shared. "Do not push or prod them. If they feel threatened they will leave." Charles turned his back to the laughing children in the gardens playing tag.

"You said her powers manifested so ally to Remy's, Logan?" 

"Yea, glowing eyes and exploding be soon as that arrow hit the guys skull. Different colors though."

"I'll make a few calls and see if he wouldn't mind teaching the girl how to use them."

\----- 

His hand held her smaller one. The flesh of her pale and chilled in his warm palm. Her heartbeat was faint, just a slow beating in her veins but it was there. And that's all that mattered. Eight bullets scattered around her stomach, rupturing multiple organs and her heart and stopped four times. Yet here she was, breathing slow and deep on the hospital bed in front of him.

His girl was safe, out of surgery and resting under his watch. All their watches, Ward and Skye refusing to leave her side as well. They wouldn't leave her alone, her family. 

That's what they were. A family. Four broken, shattered souls melding together to form one solid piece with no cracks or chips. Bonding together since the day they'd met. Slowly and then all at once. The programming broken by some fluke and letting that bond truly snap into place. Bucky felt safe with these three. And in turn each felt safe with the others. There was no doubt, no lies or dishonesty between them. No misconception of the loyalty spread between the four of them. 

Bucky leaned his forehead onto the cool sheets, his cheek against her hand that was clasped in his own palm. He let the tears fall freely, no broken sobs or roars of the pain he felt inside himself. He would forever feel the pain of losing that tiny life so quickly. But Mia was still here, still by his side, still loving him. That's what mattered to him. 

He'd always dreamed on being a father, but that was before he was taken during the war. Before he'd lost all hope for anyone coming to find him. Before he'd been strapped into the chair the first time. His dreams of having a family of his own shattered and thrown into the icy winds. Then he met Mia, and that little tickle inside turned into that hope again. There's a fire in him that burns for everything she is and could be and always will be. A flaming inferno that's keeping him grounded and calm as he can through everything they've been through. 

He fell asleep like that, close as he could to Mia. Ward and Skye cramped into a small set of chairs pushed side by side, hands clasped tightly together. Gun in Ward's empty fist, ready to shoot and protect his family. Bucky's hidden left hand holding his magnum in his lap, pointed toward the door. They weren't taking any chances, even in this place full of children and mutants and kind people. Nothing lasts forever. 

\----

Soft knocking and the door clicking open had two sets of exhausted eyes wide open and two guns pointed at the shocked red headed woman in the doorway. Her eyes widened slightly and she tried to smile it off. Mutants and erratic people against freaks, but she wasn't quite used to guns being pointed at her from trained assassins. 

"Sorry, I knocked... I need to change her bandages. I'm Doctor Jean Grey." Two clicks and the safeties were back on, guns hidden in clothes that were baggy on thin bodies. Jeans heart twisted at how pale and sallow all of them looked. 

"Sorry, instinct." Ward spoke and shuffled Skye into a sitting position as the dark haired girl woke up slowly. 

"It's alright. Won't be the first time I've had a few guns on my head." Jean continued and still waited in the doorway. The way she couldn't really read their minds, the mental blocks they subconsciously had up were astounding to the telepath. She didn't want to agitate them with a wrong move. "Can I change her bandages?"

Bucky's eyes narrowed but he gave a curt nod to the doctor, signaling for Ward and Skye to leave to give Mia that little bit of privacy.

"There's a dining hall on the main floor, I'm sure if you head in the back door Storm and Rogue will have breakfast set aside for you." Jean smiled as came into the room, explaining how to use the back halls that the faculty and adults used to have some privacy from the kids running rampant. 

Ward took Skye out with a soft thank you and the door clicked shut. Leaving Jean in the room with the unconscious girl and metal armed soldier. She smiled kindly and made her way to the other side of the bed, not wanting to make the man leave the girls side. The badges came off one by one, and with Bucky's help with holding Mia up, they were taken off quickly. 

Mia's stomach and lower back were riddled with bullet holes. Puckered looking wounds that were red and still bleeding in a few cases. Bucky could see the marks where the doctors had to cut open Mia's stomach to find the shattered rounds inside her. His hand tightened into a fist, eyes raging with a fury inside. Wishing he could have done more to torture that son of bitch that did that to her. 

"She's healing so quickly..." Jean's muttering to herself tore Bucky from his angered state of mind and the fury receded for the moment. His eyes narrowed as the doctor examined Mia's wounds intensely. 

"Oh! Sorry, I'm being so rude. It's just I've studied Logan's healing abilities and Wade's. Hers are nearly the same."

"It's the serum." Bucky mumbled, scrubbing a hand over his face before taking a strand of Mia's dark hair behind her ear, God he wished they could dye it back. 

"The serum?" Jeans brow furrowed in confusion. 

"'S what they did to me, makes you stronger, faster, harder to kill. Heals you quicker, about four times then normal." Bucky vaguely explained. He didn't tell her about the pain, the burn of the serum destroying and rebuilding every cell in the body over and over until only the new ones are left. 

"Logan's is about thirteen times normal and Wade's is about ten times. That's interesting. By that measure i would say she would be awake in a couple days instead of weeks." Mia was bandaged back up, a tiny bit of color coming back into her cheeks as she rests.

"She'll be fine." Jean smiled and her heels clicked on the floor as the door shut behind her.

Bucky's knuckles lightly strokes over Mia's cheek, her breathing slow and deep. Restful and not labored. She was healing faster than normal. Instead of a few days it could be hours before she woke. His eyes narrowed as he watched a thick scrape, that had previously just started to clot and scab, heal over and leave nothing but a heavy pink line in its wake. 

"What the hell...."


	36. Chapter 36

36 

The scent of bacon, eggs and waffles wafted from the dark halls being lit up with the bright rays of morning lights coming through the windows. Fresh coffee brewing was what really drove Ward and Skye into the swinging doors and the large kitchen. 

A woman with shocking white hair flowing down her back looked up, wide smile on her face. Dark caramel skin spread over her body and shone in the sunlight. She had this immense calming nature about her that instantly soothed Skye's mind. Rogue was there as well, sitting at a small table covered with cooking supplies and clean dishes. A cup of coffee in her hand and she was dressed in simple black workout clothes. 

"Ah, good morning. You two must be the late night rescues. I am Storm, nice to meet you." She held her hand out but it simply hovered there. Neither Skye nor Ward offering to take it. Storm's mind balked and she was saddened suddenly by the complete distrust in their faces. How even her own calming nature made them hesitant. She pulled her hand back and still smiled. 

"Bet y'all are hungry. We saved some food from the youngin's." Rogue spoke, refilling her coffee mug and pointing to another smaller table topped with plates of food still steaming hot. 

"Thank you." Skye made eye contact with the women before tugging Ward toward the table. Their hunger showing instantly the moment they sat down. Rogue and storm watching with small glances, talking quietly about the school day. Leaving the somewhat skiddish couple to themselves for the moment.

The door to the kitchen swung open again and in walked someone new. Ward's hand instantly going to his gun in the waist and of his jeans on instinct. The man was tall, maybe six foot or more, strong but lithe build and covered up by miles of leather in a duster on his shoulders. Dark brunette almost red hair gently curling up from around a deep red bandana tied around his forehead. But what screwed with Ward, was the black nearly soulless eyes looking back at him through the sights on the gun. 

"Easy ther' jeune ami." A thick accented voice came, heavy with Cajun and French on his younger in the couple words spoken. 

Ward's eye narrowed but the safety flicked off the gun. He still held it up with a steady hand. "Vous êtes pas mon ami, un pas en arrière marais rat." Ward spoke back, gaining a slightly raised brow from the man in front of him. 

"Ah, I am mistaken. You are not the lover of the girl I am to help?" The man raised his hands and gave a charming smile and raise of his shoulders. "I am LeBeau, Remy LeBeau, I was called her' to help a girl with powers like my own, yes?"

"Remy, she hasn't woken up yet from surgery," Rogue states to diffuse whatever could be going on between the two males. Even she could feel the masculinity and testosterone in the air. "Stop bein' so rude. These are her friends, they ain't to friendly yet." Rogue gave a small smile which Skye returned in kind. Ward putting the gun back in his waistband. 

"You said you're here to help her? How are you going to do that?" Ward spoke, watching the tall man from across the kitchen, Remy. 

"Simple, does she look like dis?" Remy's eyes started to glow, the black staying but this ghostly push and pull of purple lights coming from his eyes. His fingers deftly slipping a deck of cards from his sleeve. Each one glowing the same purple as his eyes, floating in the air as he shuffled them with a gamblers skill. Fingertips touching each one and taking the glow away before each card stacked on top of the next and deck was complete again. The glow was gone as fast as it appeared. 

"Yeah... Something like that..." Skye whispered out, her eyes wide seeing that eerily similar purple glow. What she had seen on Mia was a light lavender with reddish tinge but... It looked exactly like what Remy had just shown them. 

"Then that is how I help, no? I teach, she learns. Everyone's happy." Remy turned and eyed Rogue hungrily. "Chere, you are looking so beautiful this morning, you outshine.."

"Can it LeBeau," Rogue rolls her eyes and pick up a plates of white sugar topped pastries that seemed deep fried. 

"Ah mon chere! You make the best beignets!" Remy kissed the woman on the cheek and vanished though the swing of doors out into the deeper faculty side of the building. 

"Well that was interesting..." Skye sat back down in her chair, going back to the plate of bacon and waffles sitting there. 

"Don' pay no mind to Remy, he's a terrible flirt but he's harmless. Just don't play poker with 'im, you'll lose." Rogue smiled and then went to the doors. "I have a defense class to teach. Skye? I'm glad she's alright." Skye's gave a tiny smile to Rogue as she vanished. 

"How is he going to help Mia, storm?" Skye asked, playing with her fork on the now empty plate. A puddle of syrup moving and cut and molding back together as her fork dragged gently over it. 

Storm walked over, gently taking a seat at the other side of the table, giving them both a small berth of room so she wouldn't crowd them. "Remy is a good friend of ours, his mutation is nearly exactly like Mrs. Mia's. It a combination of controlling kinetic energy, changing it at will and using it to well, make things go boom. As Wade would put it." 

"Someone say my name?" Before the two could process much of what Storm had told them in walked a man head to toe in red and black spandex. Katanas strapped to his back and guns holstered on each hip along with blades. Ward thought he looked ridiculous, Skye just wanted to stop meeting new people.

"Whoa, you two look new. Hello gorgeous." The man in spandex got really close to Ward's face, leaning over the table on his palms like a scchool girl flirting with a jock. "Ooooo you're a hottie! Strong jaw, nice eyes. Damn those muscles! Get lots of pu..(Wade we may talk about rape and shit but you are not saying the 'p' word!! -dammit fine, spoil sport-)"

Ward glanced at Skye who then looked at Storm. The woman covered her forehead with her palm and sighed softly as if this was completely normal to her. The man leaned back and offered the two his hand waiting for a handshake that wouldn't come. 

"Names pool, Deadpool. And you are??"

"These are out guests Wade, please control yourself for a moment?"

"No can do Stormy girl." He laughed and stood back up, hands on hips as he looked over the two across the table from storm. "You look so vaguely familiar to me..(Wade don't you dare or I'll cut off your knob and give it to my cat to eat...-sheesh alright alright!-). Meh never mind, wrong storyline!" He grabs a slice of bacon, lifting up the bottom half of his mask to chomp into it as he leans his hip on the countertop. Vivid burn scars covering his chin that's exposed. 

"We should get back to Mia." Ward whispered softly against Skye's hair and she nods. Both of them standing and thanking Storm for the breakfast quickly. Wanting to distance themselves from this strange man. 

"Huh, I used to know someone with that name, long fucking ass time ago." Wade shrugged, replaced his mask and gave Storm a soft side hug. "Okay Stormy girl, Prof X wanting to see me right?"

"Yes Wade, he's in his office with Loga..."

"Wolvie's here?!" The man took off like a bat out of hell and Skye and Ward were quick to go their own way. Happy to be away from the weird guy in spandex. 

\---- (about 30 minutes before Deafpool's arrival) -bitch I'm fabulous and I deserved a way bigger entrance!- (Wade, shut your trap or I'm gonna hakuna your tattas so badly you'll never get another erection) 

He watched her sleep soundly. Saw the tiny flutters in her eyelids. The little imperceptible twitch of fingers or toes. She was trying so hard to wake up. And he was counting the seconds until she did. It's only been two hours but he can see she's trying her best. Wanting to be awake. Wanting to fight. 

"Come on babydoll, wake up and show me those eyes." Bucky whispered into her wrist as he holds it against his lips. Feeling the heartbeat of her pulse against his cheek. "Show me that smile."

There's a flutter of her eyelids. A twitch of the fingers. A sharp shallow inhale of her nose. The tiny arch of her neck and the squeeze of her fingers around Bucky's. A tiny moan of discomfort, because with the healing and serum, no pain medication would work long enough to help. 

"That's my girl, come on baby. I'm right here." Bucky wants to cry, can't hold back the relieved few tears that escape and roll down his cheeks, landing on their joined hands as he squeezes right back. Telling her he's right here by her side like he always will be. 

"Buck..." It's small, barely a whisper but it's there. Her eyes are struggling to open and he knows she's in so much pain. The set of her jaw against it showing.

"Right here Mia. I'm here..." He reaches to tuck a strand of her tangled hair behind her ear.

"Hurts.."

"I know Baby, breath through it. I've got ya." Her hand squeezed onto his, her knuckles popping softly from disuse over such a short period of time. His thumb rubbing soothing circles on the backside of her hand. The metal cooling her warm skin as the fever set in. It would be over soon, he knew from experience of multiple shots. 

"The fuck.... happened." She breathed sharply through the flashes of pain. Nearly feeling her flesh and muscle knitting itself back together. It was quick, but not quick enough to be painless. 

"I wasn't paying attention.... Rumlow," Bucky seethed, his grip on her hand tightening for a moment before he loosened his hold so not to break her small hand. "He came out of the woods. Must have been following us this entire time. God I was reckless, stupid... You got shot Mia."

"Well I feel that part..." She tried to crack a smile but it only turned into a grimace as another flash of pain rocked through her body. Her breath coming into her lungs with a soft hiss. "Not your fault Bucky, I wasn't watching either."

"But it is my fault. God there was so much blood Mia. You just went limp in my arms and... And I thought you were gone." She felt the small drop of wetness on her wrist. Saw the tear tracks, old and new, across his cheeks and the redness of his stormy eyes. 

"James I'm here, I'm alive." His eyes opened and bore into her own, she remotely called him James. It was so intimate a name, one he hadn't been called since his childhood. But one that meant what she said with it. Her free hand reached out to clasp against ther joined hands. Flinching from the movement it caused in her abdomen to turn but she didn't care. "I'm by your side, always."

His lips brushed against her fingertips, the tears still softly flowing down his cheeks. She wiped one or two away with her thumb, cupped his cheek in her hand. And he couldn't help the small smirk on his lips. She was comforting him, it was supposed to be the other way around. 

They stay like that for a little while. No more words spoken and just simply taking in that she was alive and healing, by his side. There was an elephant in the room, something they needed desperately to talk about but couldn't find the courage or heart to even think about it. Not even to form the words inside their minds, too painful a subject at the present moment. 

"I love you," Bucky leaned up and kissed her lips gently. Lingering only a moment before pulling back and giving her an exhausted smile. 

"Love you Bucky." Her hand squeezed his and she gave him an answering smile. "Till the end right?" 

"Till the end sweetheart." 

The door clicked open and Bucky turned in his seat to see Ward and Skye walk inside the room. A cup of coffee in Skye's hand that she handed to Bucky. Her dark eyes going wide as she rushed to the other side of the bed. Wrapping Mia in her arms as gently as she could for a hug. 

"Don't you ever scare me like that again. You hear me cowgirl? I will bring you back from the dead and kill you again if you do it again." It only took moments for Skye to burst into heaving sobs, her arms wrapped around Mia's shoulders as she leaned over the bed. Mia's arms wrapping tight as she could to Skye's rib cage. Both of them heaving for breath through the sobs. 

"Easy Skye, don't make her cry." Ward gently peeled Skye from her best friend, both wiping at wet cheeks and trying to smile through it as Mia winced in pain. 

"I'm alright." Though she hissed, grabbing at her lower abdomen and putting slight pressure on the healing wounds. "'M fine." 

Once all were settled back in their spots and three sets of eyes stopped watching for Mia to pass out or hurt herself. Bucky glanced at Ward. 

"What's the status of the house?" Soldier mode, there wasn't a switch anymore. It was always present. 

"Big. Lots of halls, lots of rooms. Lots of kids." 

"Exits?"

"More than you would think. There's also labeled safe rooms between classrooms and in the halls."

"Safe rooms? They've been attacked before..."

"Which means this place isn't as safe as they claim."

"We should move out."

A knock at the door sounded and faces were swept clean of all emotion. Masks in place as the person turned the knob and the door swung open, of it's own accord it seemed. The professor sat in his wheelchair, smiling gently as he made his way inside the room. There were others behind him but they shut the door and stayed in the hall.

"Oh my, I thought I heard a trickle of a new mind. So glad you are back with us my dear." Charles came as close as Bucky's narrowed eyes would allow and looked at the confused young woman on the hospital bed. "My name is Charles Xavier, and I run this school."

"Mia," she answered politely. The man's calming demeanor getting to her and giving her mind ease with his presence more so then it worked on Bucky. She didn't trust the man as far as she could throw him, but he felt somewhat safe. Non threatening, to her. 

"It is a pleasure to meet you my dear." 

"New mind? Trickle? What are you talking about?" Ward spoke what Bucky and the others were thinking. This mutant business completely new to them. 

"Forgive me, i have a mutant ability. It's telepathy and a bit of telekinesis." Though that wasn't the entirety at all of Charles powers, he figured it best to let the small details through to this group. They were shaken up as it was. He didn't want to terrify or frighten them. 

"I am very glad to see you awake Mia. Your friends were very worried about you, I don't beleive mr Barnes here left the hall." He chuckled lightly and sat a bit further back in his chair. 

"It didn't occur to me earlier sir, but how the hell do you know my name?" Bucky stood slowly, his hands balled into fists at his sides. Mia wincing as she tried to reach for his hip, belt loop, anything to make him calm. 

"Well that's a difficult question to answer. So I will be as blunt as possible." His fingers slipped together and steepled under his chin. "But this room is so very small and crowded, why don't we all go into the gardens. I am sure Mia would like to feel the sunlight, yes?" 

Mia finally grabbed onto Bucky's right hand, metal grip tense around her small fingers that squeezed right back. She nodded timidly to the professor but her gaze was pointed upwards, towards Bucky's dark hair at the back of his head. He shifted slightly, looked at her through locks of hair that was now longer than his chin, nearly spreading over his shoulders now. He saw her want. Want to be outside and breath fresh air, not this sterile place that reminded them so much of the cells and labs they had known for years. His hands loosened and he turned, facing Mia.

"Could we have some fresh clothes first? None of us grabbed our bags..." Skye spoke up and Mia nodded vehemently in agreement. Her shirt and sweater had been torn open for the surgery. Pants nothing but a crimson sticky, stiff mass of cloth on her thighs and legs and she desperately wanted fresh clothes. Her bandages the only thing really covering her other than the sheet over her chest and body. 

"Of course child. Rogue? You may come in." As if on command the door opened and the smiling Rogue walked in, arms full of folded clothes. All dark in color. She places them on the small table by the door and waves her way out. Meeting Logan at the door. "I'll be waiting outside." Charles steered his chair through the door, it clicked shut on its own and there was silence for a few moments.

"We leave the second we get a free break?" Bucky asked Ward. They didn't need to ask the girls. They would follow without question and all would follow Bucky. It was ingrained in their brains but they wouldn't fight something that made sense. 

"Moment there's a clear path." Bucky nodded to Ward. All of them changing clothes. There was no more modesty between them. Too many months in barely nothing. Cold showers and no privacy. They were used to each other. 

Bucky stood to help Mia once his jeans were on. A red sweater, similar to the one Mia had been wearing of his only a day ago on his torso. The sheet fell away and Mia was trying to subtly scratch at the bandages around her stomach and abdomen. 

"Baby don't do that." His hands gently pushed hers aside so she wouldn't irritate the wounds.

"Buck they're driving me nuts, feels like I got ants under my skin." She pushes his hand away and continues to itch. Her nails wanting to rip the stained white wraps around her body. 

"Lemme see if they need replacing." He dropped to a knee, gently taking the wraps off one layer af a time, his brow furrowing the more came off her flesh. "Jesus Christ..."

"What?" 

"Look..." Bucky's fingertips ran over her wounds. Wounds that, by the serum standards, should be about half healed or less in this short amount of time. They weren't. They were nearly fully healed. As in barely even pink now. The skin puckered and smooth. Scar tissue barely visible from each shot. Even the surgical lines that had been drawn were now just the faintest of marks on her skin. 

"Jesus.."


	37. Chapter 37

37

The Xavier institute was huge. Not only was the mansion enormous and vast. The grounds themselves were thick as lush. A good five acres around the mansion were nothing but tailored gardens and joy ponds. The rest of the property a vest spans of thick woods with walking trails. 

Soccer field. Running track. Basketball courts and tennis courts. Plenty of room for a hundred or more kids and teachers to be close to nature without being too far from the school. In all, it was very well maintained and secluded. It didn't make the foursome feel any better about being there.

Charles' wheelchair crunched the late fall leaves as he moved through a pathway down toward a still pool. All the students were in class right now so the entire place was quiet and devoid of laughter. The only sounds the crunch of leaves beneath boots and the wind whistling through barren tree. Bucky and Ward kept the girls between them. Their eyes searching for threats and postures stiff. Ready to attack of needed.

"Okay we're outside Xavier. Explain how the hell you know my name? Or this just so a foreign squad can try and take us out?" Bucky growled out bitterly to the elderly man in the wheelchair. Mia was to his right and slightly behind him. Ward to his left with Skye behind his own right. It's a stance they take on instinct and everyone else can see it. The calculating way their eyes are still but taking in every detail and sound faster than a normal person ever could imagine. Trained into their very souls.

"As I explained earlier, I am a telepath. With my abilities I can read minds, unlock frozen or hidden memories and a use telekinesis. As in moving objects."

Bucky only stared, his entire body still and the afternoon breeze tousled his dark long hair about his chin. Rogue watched from beside Logan, behind the professor. She'd never felt fear since gaining Carol Danvers' powers. Not since being with Logan. But this man, Barnes. He made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end with just a look, an instinctual response to danger. And all four of them oozed it no matter how kind the two girls could seem. 

"I didn't want to invade any of your minds but none of you were speaking to the team and I needed to know if your families were looking for you. Since Mia was unconscious from the blood loss I chose her. I only wanted your names and nothing more. But because of the machine and how your memories were forcibly taken, she had so many walls built up. And once she was unconscious all those walls vanished and, I am sorry, but I saw every moment from birth to being shot two days ago in the mountains." 

Bucky's gun was swung from his jeans only for a slicing sound to come. The guns barrel dropping to the ground with a clanging thump as Logan stood before the professor. Metal claws coming from his knuckles and Bucky took a defensive stance. Ward pulling his pistol, Skye raising her hands and Mia, Mia's eyes started to faintly burn and her vision turned a lavender tinge. Blind fury welling up inside her. 

"You went into my mind?" She snarled, Bucky's right arm keeping her behind him slightly as he held her from attacking in her rage. His own anger barely held down. "Haven't we been through enough of assholes in our heads? Two years! We spent two years without having a single god damned free thought. Two years we spent being ordered to do EVERYTHING!!!" 

Her eyes were burning and burning, the purple glow coming to surround her irises. Bucky's arms the only thing holding her back as she huffed angrily beside him. At first glance people forget she's a super soldier in her own right, and Bucky's using his strength to hold her down. Logan kept the claws out, didn't change his own protective stance across from the foursome but watched carefully. 

"And James.... James has been held for seventy years! How dare you do something so so... Wrong! We were hiding in the fucking mountains for a reason! Do you think we wanted to be found? We don't have anyone left don't you get that! We were hiding to keep what few friends we care about safe from us." Her anger was still strong but she just didn't want to keep screaming and acting a child. 

"I assure you.."

"Save it grandpa. Thanks for saving the day or whatever. Really. Lost my baby that was barely a few months old INSIDE OF ME, but you know I'm good." She snarled out low and dangerous, a chill running down Rogue's spine. "We were up there to keep everyone safe. Do you not get what we're running from? Hydra. And so you want to know why we were in those mountains? Hydra wants up back. We're they're attack dogs. The best of the best...."

"We're god damned killers, every one of us. And you all should be thanking your lucky stars we haven't thought of you lot as a threat until now..." Ward continued, his shoulders rolling to pop his neck as he glared. Logs glanced at Ward for a moment before fixing his stance, ready to take on both Bucky and Ward. 

"Easy kid..." Logan started with a low growl.

"Can it claw man. Those don't fucking scare me." Bucky growled right back, the plates in his arm shifting as he clenched his fist, ready to strike. "You had no right to look into her head like that. We told you to leave us alone up on that mountain. And I bet you didn't even know you were followed because THAT SON OF A BITCH SHOT MY GIRL AND KILLED OUR CHILD!" Bucky roared and shit hit the fan. 

Metal met metal as Logan's claws attempted to slice through Bucky's arm. There's a half beat where Logan looks shocked that his claws couldn't cut through some things and then it's gone as Bucky's other fist slams into Logan's jaw. Throwing the man to the ground in a heap, he'll only be out a moment but it's effective enough to knock the Wolverine to his back. 

"Easy , easy." Rogue stood beside the professor, hands held up as Ward stalked forward a step to push Skye behind him further. He'd seen the bullet flick off of Rogue's skin, the way she lifted form the ground and flew. There Rumlow down like a sack of jello.

"We didn't know anyone had been following us. There wasn't any scent that would suggest it... We didn't know he was there." Rogues voice cracked slightly. "Please just calm down okay? It wasn't our fault that man took your baby. And honey I know it's a terrible feeling to feel that life growing and then lose it so suddenly. But you got to calm down, please." There's a tear in her eye and Bucky stills, Mia's hands on his metal limb. 

"I am truly sorry. And if I could take it back I would, I promise child. But it's done and all I can do is ask for forgiveness for the invasion of privacy I took from you. I am sorry." Bucky only relaxed his stance as Mia have him a small pull. He didn't budge by her smaller strength but he stepped back and wrapped an arm around her. Pulling her against his hip, palm flat on her hipbone. 

"Fine. So we get how you know our names now. And you know why we were running." Bucky starts angrily, Logan rouses from his hit and stands claws slowly seeping back out. Rogue's hand on his forearm for a heartbeat and they go back into his skin. The cuts healing instantly. 

"I wish to ask for your forgiveness. Truly. But I believe we can help you."

"Help how?" Ward asked, all of them ignoring the professors want of forgiveness. After so long without a mind of their own, someone sneaking into their heads and taking a stroll puts a rage inside. Even if it was Mia, they were a unit. Of one mind and body when they were together. Messing with one you get the rest. 

"Mia's powers have manifested and by some miracle she hasn't had a mishap with them, yet. I've seen how they work and possibly have a teacher that can show her how to control them."

"That Remy guy?" Ward asks.

"Yes, the very same. He has nearly exact powers as Mia, which in itself is fairly rare since everyone has their own abilities from the gene. And since they aren't related it's even more rare. I beleive that with training. She can harness them. It's imperative she learns control before she loses a grip on it and hurts any of you." 

"I'm right fucking here. You guys are talking over me like I'm a problem." Mia snarls and goes to move forward but Bucky keeps her tight to his hip. Shooting her a look through the locks of his dark hair and she glares back but stays put.

"I'm sorry child."

"Whatever. So let me get their straight. Y'all want us to stay, putting your entire school in danger and possibly the lives of every child here. Because if Hydra finds us they'll take every person here with... Mutant abilities. And take them to labs to make them into weapons, like us."

"You are not a weapon." Logan growled softly. "You got free will and control over your body don't ya?" They didn't respond but he felt the agreement. "Then you ain't a weapon anymore." 

"Regardless. You're putting a lot on the line to help us. Why?" Bucky's thumb is rubbing gently against Mia's hip as he tries to calm her down, but she knows he's just as angry and it's not helping. But touching her helps keep him grounded.

"I wish to help all mutants, and their families. Being a mutant is not a burden or a curse, it's a blessing in its own ways and I want you to harness that and live a full life. I assure you. You're safe here." 

Silence rang, slowly all three of her friends turned to glance at Mia. It was all up to her now. Bucky was the leader, he was the alpha in their pack of deadly animals. But Mia, Mia was the one who truly needed this. A safe place. One to feel safe and sleep. To learn to control this new ability. Skye didn't need the help, her control was perfect.

Mia couldn't take her eyes off of Rogue. The sadness and hope in the woman's shocking green eyes hit a cord within Mia. She hadn't missed the short bit of information Rogue had stated about losing her own child. Her heart wrenched and Mia felt it. The damn breaking. 

She's been holding it back. Holding everything back. Everything. Every kill. Every scream of pain. Every cry of agony. Every blank stare. Splatter of blood. Every thunk of her arrows sinking into bodies. The crack of skulls under her boots. All of it. All the way back to the first one she killed. Right there in her living room as Hydra shot at her friends. The feeling of nothing as she killed a man. Forward to the loss of life she's only just begun to realize was growing with her. It was just too much anymore

She wouldn't feel the kick against their skin. The glow of a healthy baby growing. The tiny clothes that would lay everywhere. She'd never go through the pain of childbirth and hold that baby in her arms. The baby that she and Bucky had created together. She'd never tell them how much she loved them. It was all ripped away from her by a few bullets straight to her womb. It was gone.

She breaks. 

Wrenching out of Bucky's embrace she staggers back a few yards. Her fingers clenched over her temples. The burning in her eyes becoming more than even she can handle and a strangled angry scream leaves her lips. There's muffled yelling, her hearing nothing but a ringing in her ears. She knows Bucky is trying to get to her but most likely held back. Keeping him safe. From her.

She feels it. That immense power within and it's so much she just can't even think about holding it back. She knows something is about to happen. Her feet somehow stumble back more and more until she knows she's yards away from her friends. Her eyes try to open and all she sees a purple haze on everything. 

Vaguely she feels the cold icy chill on her legs and calves. The sudden drop as she stumbles into the little cement rectangle pool. The icy feeling does nothing to calm the fire burning inside. Another scream erupts from her lips. Her hands burning, on fire with the scorching glow coming from them. She drops to her knees in the water and she lets go. Everything releases. 

Bucky's struggling in Rogue's grip. He's shouting profanities to her in every language imaginable and she holds strong to him. There's a lot of shouting and yelling but all he can hear is Mia's scream of agony as it shoots straight to his heart. He watches as she drops to her knees in the water. That morbid violet color coming from her eyes and hands, the flashes of the power she's about to let loose and he's powerless to stop it. 

There's a blur to their left, a flap of a leather duster and someone's jumping into the water with Mia. Water splashes as another glow starts to form a giant bubble around them both. A much darker purple enveloping them in a sturdy shield. Bucky growls and kicks and thrashes as this strange man in a duster envelopes Mia into a hug. And there's a bright flash of light, an explosion then silence. 

Bucky's eyes open and he's released from Rogue's strength. His legs pumping as he jumps into the water to gently take Mia from the man holding her in his arms toward him. He doesn't fight when Bucky takes her, only gives a somber expression at her unconscious face. Bucky holds her tight to his chest, he can feel her heartbeat and that's all that matters. He locks eyes and stiffens slightly with the black orbs staring back at his own. 

"She let it all go too fast, too much power for 'er. Lucky I was close by to put up the shield, or you," the man made a sound of an explosion and his fingers wiggled as if to say there would be bits and pieces everywhere. 

"Thank you." Bucky said sincerely. All he really understood was that this man saved his girl and he was grateful. 

"Lil chaton here don't know how to keep a grip on da fire." The man had reddish brown hair curling up at odd short angles from atop his bandana over his forehead. The cloth long and flowing over his shoulder on either side. 

"Fire?" Bucky asked, both of them stepping out of the pool, not caring about the chill in their wet clothes. 

"Tis what's inside 'er. Inside a' me. The power, the energy." 

"This is..."

"Strange? Mon ami, Tis a whole new world for your chere now."

"Got that right." Bucky couldn't explain it, he sort of liked the obvious Cajun man beside him. The black eyes didn't effect him and the man saved Mia of his own accord while everyone else was waiting for her to explode, literally. 

"Ah, my manners. LeBeau, Remy LeBeau." The man held his hand out hand and Bucky shifted slightly to shake it so not to jostle Mia on his arms. 

It only took Bucky a moment to make his decision. He saw that familiar light in Remy's eyes. The black abyss they were couldn't hide the pain and loss he saw. A kindred spirit of sorts. 

"Barnes, James Barnes." They held for just the moment longer as Remy understood the significance of the man in front of him giving his name so easily. He nodded his thanks and looked toward the group making their way toward them. 

Skye rushed over first, checking for a pulse on Mia's neck and shuddering with relief as she kissed her friends cheek affectionately. "I swear cowgirl you got to stop doing this to me, Imma have a heart attack I swear." Ward pulled her back to his side and rubbed her back soothingly. 

"Charles I told you she wa' goin to blow soon. Lucky I was close by. Or she would 'ave blown her lover and friends ta bits." Remy scolded the professor. 

"I am sorry Remy. I thought I had more time before then."

"You knew she would do that?" Skye's voice took on a new timber, a little tremble of the earth beneath her the show of her anger. 

"Easy." Ward whispers into her hair and the trembles stop. But Skye doesn't look any less mad.

"I knew it was a possibility."

"Don' lie to them professor. Dey been through too much." Remy turned back to face Bucky. "Her power is nearly equal to mine when I was 'er age. Tis a lot for a such a small girl. Emotions, dey open the link ta power. Trauma, it makes it hard to control it." 

"She... She just lost a baby. The shots...nearly killed her." Skye whispered out holding back the sob she wanted to release but she held strong. Kept her face angry.

"Oh, Dieu, pas étonnant qu'elle a perdu le contrôle. No wonder. I am sorry mon amie, dat is a hard burden to bare when so young." Bucky ducked his head in a nod of thanks to Remy. 

"Get her ta bed James, take your family. I talk with professor for a minute, come talk to you later, yes? Don't worry, I teach her to not go explodin on herself." Remy asked and got a small nod in response as Bucky stalked back toward the mansion with Mia in his arms. Ward and Skye on his heels as they headed back inside leaving a wet trail behind them. 

"Charles you mad man! You put dat girl in danger! She could have turned 'er insides to mush with dat flux of power!!" Remy snarled out angrily at the professor as the foursome vanished inside. He was angry. Rage full. He had told the professor at least twice that this would happen. That he needed to see the girl immediately so this would NOT happen. 

"It was a miscalculation Remy."

"Do not give me that Charles. That girl could have died if I wasn't near enough to 'ear her screamin'." Remy was livid. His powers weren't of the gentle type. They were nearly uncontrollable. Any emotions setting them off and any object near him becoming a weapon of literal mass destruction. 

"I will teach her. But nit because you ask it of me Charles." Remy looked closely into the professors eyes with his black gaze. "I will do it because I didn't 'ave anyone to help me."

"Remy..." Rogue spoke up walking toward her long time Cajun friend. "They've been through so much. Thank you. For saving her just now and for teaching her control." Remy merely nodded, patted Rogue on the cheek gently with his left hand. It was a sweet gesture for the friends who usually bicker but it meant worlds to the other. 

He turned and walked away for a few yards then stopped. "Charles... Her brother here, yes?"

"Yes Remy, but neither are aware the other is here." Charles spoke softly. 

"Keep him away. She gets another shock and 'er powers will react badly again. Try to wait." 

"Do you really think that wise? He will find her, by accident or otherwise." Charles spoke and moved his chair a bit closer to Remy. 

The Cajun took a deep breath, his fingers itching inside his coat pockets to open the pack of cigarettes sitting inside. He refrained, instead looking up into the late fall sky. The tiny rumbles in the distance signalling a storm coming. The scent of ice and rain ominous on the air to Remy's senses. He knew what he had to do. 

He knew the haunted look he'd seen in James' face as he handed Mia's thin body back to him. The way the man was terrified for the young woman's safety. Remy felt the power within her, so close to his own. He felt a kindred spirit in her. A similar soul before all hell had broken down in their lives, simply wanting to be happy. 

"I take them with me Charles. Somewhere safe, away from da school and the kids. I teach her and let them live their lives."

"Wait, what? Remy they won't go with you, they barely know you." Rogue argued, her feet slapping on the path to round on her friend, standing in front of him. 

"James' trusts me enough already ta not throw a punch when I hold his woman so she don' drown. I saved her life jus' now and you , all of you stood aside and was going ta let it happen." Rogue had the decency to cringe and take a steadying breath, it was true. 

"They don' wanna be here anymore then I do most times I am called in for help." Remy turned back and started toward the mansion again, his peace was said and he was done talking. His decision made. 

He'd take them to one of his own safe houses deep in the bayou. No one would ever look for them there and they'd be safe in the trees and swamps to practice her powers. Let them be away from the road, from here and anyone that wanted harm to them. He vanished into the double doors with a gentle flutter of the dark duster.

"You know once Wade finds out that's his long lost baby sister, he is going to go apeshit till her finds her right?" Logan grumbled, his nose lifting slightly to scent the rain just hours away. 

"Yes. Let's hope he doesn't figure it out yet. Or they might be in for another surprise that young Mia can't handle."

 

"Hope who never finds out what? Keeping secrets again professor?" Wade Wilson, Deadpool, dropped down from the oak tree he was perched. "Actually, I heard everything a couple minutes after the big boom. You guys should really go further away from the mansion, for realsies." Logan groaned softly and closed his eyes. 

"Okay! So!" Wade clapped his gloved hands together. "So how come those delicious male models and Remy were crowded around an adorable blonde in the pool? It's like 40 degrees out here! Hmm hmm?"

"Wade..."

"Actually professor, why don't you shut your fucking trap. You think I wouldn't recognize my own flesh and blood? It's been like forever and a half but I would know my baby sister at a glance." His normal sarcastic and joking nature was slipping away, replaced with an anger he hadn't felt since Francis had hijacked his girl.

"So I'm gonna ask really nicely. How the FUCK is my sister a mutant and WHY THE FUCK IS SHE on the run from HYDRA?"


	38. Chapter 38

38

Remy traveled the halls of the once familiar school. Down to the hidden faculty and xman elevator. To the small rooms kept for people who needed to recover without the kids and others bothering them at all hours. That's where he found the foursome. Crowded around Mia's small frame as she sipped from a plastic cup of water. James at her back, an ever present shadow of menace and possessiveness over her weaker body. And Remy is hit with the image of an alpha wolf protecting a wounded mate. 

The door is cracked open so he gently raps his knuckles on the door, pushing it open wide enough to let him in and click it shut behind him. There's no hiding the slight tension all of them show. The way wWard's hand laid over the gun poorly hidden in his waist band. Skye clenching her fists and aiming them toward the floor. There was no trust but in each other for them and he felt the way they did. The xmen were good people, but even Remy did not trust them as they thought he did. 

"Chaton, you awake so quickly?" Remy put on a small smile as the pretty thin girl gave him a quick once over, James' hand on her side making her lean back and to the side to catch his eye. He gave a nod and there was an instant change. A small smile on her lips as if Bucky had given her permission to express herself. Hell that could have been why. Like a second looking for command from the leader. Remy filed that away for further thought. 

"I'm... Fuck. I'm not okay. But I'm.. Here?" Remy nodded at her jumbled response. It was understandable. The poor thing had been living in hell for years along side her friends. Tortured, abused, brainwashed and trained to be killers and then suddenly. Once they're all free, she realizes she's pregnant, loses the baby, and manifests all in the span of maybe a week. Remy never felt more sorry and pity for anyone before in his life.

"It okay chaton, I warned da professor you was close to burstin, but.." Remy shrugged and gave a broken smile. "Dey chose not to listen to da swamp rat."

"Thank you, Remy. Truly, thank you." Mia sipped the rest of her water, James gently taking the cup from her and sitting on the bed beside her. A knee pulled up against her back to hold up her weight as she leaned back into him for support. A picture of two bodies clinging to the other in the simplest of movement so they don't fall apart at the already ripped and broken seams. 

"Non chaton, none of dat was your fault and ya stop telling yourself that." He chided goodnaturedly and got a small real smile in return. The thin girl was growing on him a bit.

"Kitten? Why do you call me that?" Mia changed the way of the conversation and Remy followed suit, not wanting to startle the small truce between them all. 

"Ah, I can stop if you like." Remy was afraid he'd made a mistake with the timid truce but Mia only shook her head, dyed dark curls curling slightly from being damp. "But you are small, roar like lion though with that power ya got."

"No it's... It's alright." Silence rang for a few moments and Remy decided he needed to make his move. Before they changed and made a new plan.

"James? I know you don' want ta be here. I agree. Tis bad place and not safe for kids or your family." James nodded back to Remy, stoney blues flitting back to dark orbs as he locked eyes with Ward. 

"So I take you from here. I have safe houses, all over." The tension started to come back into the males' bodies. Remy stood still, silent for a moment. 

"No one follow. No one find us. I have my own run in from Hydra, years back. Dey couldn't hold me long enough ta get mah mutation." Remy scoffed gently, old anger making his eyes glow a light lavender around the black irises. "Dey tried but I destroyed the labs."

Remy stepped closer, easily, calmly. None of them moving to stop him and Ward pulling Skye back as Remy walked gently forward to lay a hand on Mia's shoulder. Bright eyes looking back up and him and he regrets the day he will tell her, that the fire within them takes away the color of her eyes. 

"No one deserves to 'ave this kind of fire inside chaton. No one. And I am so sorry ya got this by rare chance, I am. It won't go away, it won't get easier. But I can teach you ta control it and use it correctly. For the safety of your friends." 

Mia looked at at this man before her. With black almost soulless eyes staring at her kindly despite the dark pits. A Cajun French accent and eternal smirk on his face. The way he held himself as if so carefree but she'd felt it, seen it. That power within him that overshadowed anything she'd ever felt before in her life. Reminded her of her stallion back home. Strong and agile and a fierceness of strength with kindness and apathy. 

He wanted to help. He wanted to take them somewhere safe. Somewhere to learn to be human again. To control her power to teach her and guide her through this. Because as much as she loved Bucky and how much he took care of her. He couldn't help her with this. What was happening inside of her very shattered soul. 

She took a long sigh, her smaller hand gently clasped over Remy's on her shoulder. Her eyes locking with her friends. Her family. Her sister Skye. Her brother she wished she had, Ward. And Bucky, her amazing strong Bucky. Saw the choice they were all giving her. Because they weren't leaving her and she wasn't going to jump ship and leave them either. They were a family. 

"Get us out of this place Remy, please. Before I go all." She made an explosion with her fingers and Remy patted her shoulder before leaning back up and smiling down at her thin frame. She really needed to gain some weight, far too small for the strength in her eyes. 

He nodded and like an unspoken command all four of them stood straight and ready to go. Remy had forgotten for a moment that they had nothing but the clothes on their backs and the weapons at their sides. He could fix that, at the safe house he planned to use for them. Easily they moved from the room, toward Remy's parked truck in the large circular drive of the mansion, afternoon light placing a warm glow on the brick mansion. 

There's a figure against his truck and Remy groans out agitatedly. Knowing who it was and what was about to happen. He stops short and turns to look at Mia, her brow furrowing. 

"Keep breathing chaton, focus on your heartbeat when you feel the power gettin too strong." He spoke softly and pointed to the man against the faded truck yards away, dressed entirely in black and red spandex. "I know you want ta leave chaton, and we will. But someone wants to say hi before ya go vanishing on him again." Mia glanced at him confused , her hand tightening its grip in Bucky's in nervousness as her gaze went back to the man

He was tall, lithe build with somewhat broad shoulders and thick thighs. Black and red spandex stretched over his body. Arms crossed over his chest as he leaned his back and hips against the cab of the truck. Mask with white eyes seeming to watch her every move, Mia stayed slightly behind Bucky and Remy. She didn't like the feeling from the man watching her. Like he knew her.

They walked closer even though she felt apprehension. She could feel Bucky's hand hold hers tighter and she ignored how tight his grip was becoming, small pain didn't register anymore. Several yards away Remy stopped and pocketed his hands, staring at the other man intently. "Don' go upsettin her, she barely got a grip on her power."

The man in the mask took a moment before he nodded and stood up straight, walking the few steps over to the group. Bucky slowly pushing Mia behind his flesh arm, metal plates clicking silently as he made a fist with the cybernetic limb. The man raised his hands in surrender in answer to Bucky's movements. 

"Easy metal man, I wouldn't hurt her if my life depended on it." He scrubbed one hand over the back of his neck over the spandex and tilted to the side slightly to get a closer look at Mia. She had on this blank stony expression that actually made him want to step back, like looking into the eyes of a way too skilled Hunter. His heart tightened at that look from her face. 

"It's been a long time Babygirl." He started and was quickly silenced. 

"No one fucking calls me that. Get me?" Mia had spun around Bucky's arm to stand in front of him almost. Her eyes blazing with fire and a tiny glinting glow of purple around the blue he knows so well. 

"What about Mimi? Remember that one? Or squirt?" Mia stepped back, eyes wide as the purple faded a bit back to the steely blue. Brow furrowed at he man before her.

"Only my brother called me that and he left me, alone. With the body of our dead father bleeding out in the living room." She snarled darkly and the man sighed, scrubbed a hand over his mask. 

He reached back and the sound of Velcro could be heard, and slowly the mask came loose around his neck. Pulling the edge from the neck of his suit revealing the scarred and burnt flesh beneath. Familiar bright eyes met Mia's and she stumbled back into Bucky's chest, in shock. Confusion over her face as she stared open mouthed at the man in front of them. 

Moments passed and she was still staring. Tears now welling up in her eyes as both her hands shakily covered her mouth. Before anyone knew it, the girl had moved so quickly, her arms wrapped around the man's neck as she leapt up enough to reach. Her sobs wracked her body as the man's arms wound around her smaller form.

"Hey hey, sweetheart it's okay.." He whispered and Bucky stalks forward. Ready to bust his lights out no doubt. He raises one hand from Mia's trembling back and reaches it out to Bucky. "Wade, Wade Wilson. I'm the big brother..." 

There's another pregnant pause. No one moving besides his Wade's hand along Mia's back to sooth her and her back shaking with her silent sobs. Bucky finally narrows his eyes and takes Wade's hand, nearly crushing it in his steel grip. Wade didn't even flinch, instead feeling his knuckles pop and relocate before placing his hand back on his baby sister's back. Baby sister wasn't so little anymore though. 

"Easy sweetheart, hey hey..." He cups her face, leaning back and staring into those bright blues he used to watch close in sleep every night since she was a baby till he had to leave her. Missing that glow from them every day since. 

"God I thought that idiot Barton would keep you safe. What you doin here babygirl? Runnin from Hydra?! What you got yourself into sis?" He asked and in the presence of her brother she only sobbed again and he let her fall back against his chest. Feeling how short she was against his taller frame. Regretting every decision he's made since leaving her as a kid. 

"He did... Hydra found me and took her along." Bucky spoke roughly, seeing his girl so out of sorts and breaking down was tearing at his insides. He knew how losing her brother cost her as a child but how he had protected her as best he could. Even though he left her so young when she really needed him. Wade glanced up, brow furrowing at the comment and he nods solemnly. 

Suddenly Mia rears back and punches Wade straight over his jaw and he feels the bone dislocate instantly and even crunch some under her strength. Fuck that's gonna hurt for a minute. He grabs his jaw to try and smooth the ache while it heals and bone knits itself back together. His eyes downcast because he can't meet her gaze. Knows he deserves that punch and so many more for abandoning her like he did. 

"You left me! For weeks alone with .. With him! Months almost! I had to stop going to school because of the bruises and burn marks Wade. And you left me alone with him." She snarls and he expected the next punch before it came from her small but extremely powerful fists. It knocked him back a step and he could feel the bruise wanting to form and healing itself at the same time. 

"Mimi.."

"Don't you fucking dare! You left! You VANISHED! And I was alone, with dad, for months. No one to protect me from him." Angry hot tears dripped down her cheeks but she could feel the fire inside of her wanting to blaze out. Remy's presence feet away making her remember what he said and try to count her heartbeat. It wasn't working much but she tried.

"And I came back to kill that fucker for ever turning to you okay?! I came back after he did this to me!" His gloved hand pointed to his scarred face and Mia winced, remembering when it had happened. "I took every hit, kick and burn I could take until I had enough. I came back to kill him. So you wouldn't have to be abused like that."

"And then you left... I needed you!" She screamed hoarsely and Bucky tried to put a gentle hand on her back but she actually turned her head and snarled at him. Her eyes blazing violet as she warned him back. 

"You didn't need me. You needed Clint! You needed safety and to be away from me. Fuck, he's a shield agent! I thought you'd be safe! Don't you get it? I did everything I did to protect you." Wade groaned and scrubbed hands over his face, tears welling up in his eyes at hearing her angry cry heavy voice. She pushed Bucky away a moment ago instead to throw herself back into Wade's arms. Her anger vanishing with every beat of her heart, just happy to have her brother with her once again. 

"I needed you Wade... I needed my big brother.." She whimpered and Wade broke a little bit. His arms holding her tight to his chest as his own tears fell down to land in her dyed hair. He hated it, how small she sounded. How absolutely broken.

Finally they released each other, Wade lightly patting her hair away from her tear streaked face. Cupped her jaw lightly in his large palm and he misses every damn moment of her growing up because he wanted her safe. Every damn thing. Bucky comes back, envelopes her into his much thicker arms and gives a nod to Wade. He's not sure what it means but the soldier isn't attacking him so he takes it as trust. 

"You go on with swampy okay little sis?" Wade says and looks up so Remy who rolls his black eyes at Wade but is otherwise standing calmly. 

"What? I just... You're leaving again?" Her voice is strangled, cracked. And Bucky and Wade both flinch at how it makes them sick to their stomach. Hearing her sound like that in that moment. 

"Not for long Mimi, promise okay? You just go on with swampy wherever he takes ya and I'll see ya soon." He smirks and just a like that the emotional side of Wade Wilson is gone as he's back to his sarcastic annoying self. 

Mia left Bucky's arms a bit reluctantly, giving Wade one more extra strength super soldier hug that actually had his spine piping with the effort she put into it. He patted her back and tucked her black hair behind her ear fondly. He couldn't wait to tell Vanessa and Weasle all about his baby sister, finally. She left his arms once again to go back to Bucky and both males locked eyes. 

"Keep it up metal man, you're keeping her safe." Bucky closed his eyes, years of abuse Mia had already gone through. Repeated in the time hydra had had them. All his fault.

"Not as safe as she should be..." He pulled Mia closer to his chest, pain flowing through as he thought of what had been stolen from them both. 

"Don't matter, she's here. She's alive." Wade nodded and smiled, pulling his mask back on as he waved goodbye. "I'll see you soon Mimi." He turned. "Keep in touch bayou man." And then he walked away like everything in the world was right again. 

Mia watched him vanish from sight. Staring blankly at the spot for a few moments. Bucky's strong fingers gently pulled her chin up to make her look up at him and he kissed her forehead as he saw the fresh wave of tears wanting to fall. His grip on her waist tightened as she closed her eyes and the salty drops fell from her cheeks and chin silently. Her world turning more and more backwards and upside down than ever. 

Bucky closed his eyes for a moment before taking a step forward, and another and another until they were all at the truck. His eyes landing on the Cajun who was patiently waiting at the drivers door. Wade and Skye a heavy but comforting presence at his back. He glanced down to Mia, her body curled into his side as her emotions wreaked havoc inside her. He wanted her safe. So they would leave. 

"Let's get out of here." 

\-------

The drive was long and silent. Most of them not speaking for the most part. Mia had long since cried out herself and was now somewhat peacefully sleeping in Bucky's lap. Her face buried in his neck as the truck bounced and rocked the further they traveled into the woods. Safe in his strong embrace and her faith that he would protect her whatever may come. 

Soon the landscape of thick oak trees and cattle farms started to grow more wild. The thick trunks of oaks turned into somewhat gnarly trunks, covered with springy vines. Draping down to the earth in curtains and veils. The thick tall grasses shrinking to short greenery. The willowy stalks of cattail and swamp weeds reaching out to the sky barely showing through the canopy of limbs and leaves above head. 

Remy loved the swamps. The xmen called him swamp rat as an innocent insult, but it was the truth. He was a swamp rat since his birth and most likely, he would die here in this beautiful dangerous hell that they call the swamplands of Louisiana. A safe house so deep in the bayou that they had to leave the truck miles back.

The trees and water and grass lie to the naked eye. One wrong move and you could go from walking in only a few inches of water to drowning in the underwater wilds. And if you're lucky, that's how you would die. Because the snickering sound of an alligator is like a cackling hiss of glee as they clamp onto your limbs and roll you till your death underwater. Never to see the murky light of day again. 

This was his home. The place he felt he most belonged. A black eyed demon hiding in the humid forest of vines and gators. Home. The hiss of the beast beneath the water, the brush of vine against bark on the gentle warm breeze, the shaded heat from the midday sun shining bright through the gaps in the tree canopy. Home. 

Their feet make a cacophony of squishing slips as they trump through the murky blue waters. Jeans soaked to knees, boots heavy with water filling them. Grumpy expressions as the midday heat tried to slowly roast them inside the oven like thicket they were traversing. 

"Just a bit more." Remy commented and got a round of grunts in response. His charges? His friends? He wasn't sure yet, but they were tired of the wet and the heat and he didn't blame them. Even in winter some days could be stifling in this part of the state. It was a wet heat, thick and heavy on the lungs. 

Yards more and the water switched to muddy shores and wet land. The vines heavy and the sun trying it's damnedest to get through to light up the small patch of dry land but it was too shadowed. And because of that the two story shack was nearly invisible to those even looking for it. 

Giant posts sunk into the ground held the building off the wet ground. Helping keep the dampness off the wood as much as possible and protecting from flooding if needed. Rickety steps led up to the porch running all the way around the first floor. The railing like thin sticks that held together by vine and rope. The roof was strong though, slatted and colored to fit into the surroundings to help keep it hidden. 

"This is it?" Ward asked gruffly, helping Skye take off her boots, water pouring from the garment. A grumbled response from Skye as she did the other boot. 

"Oui, she stronger dan she looks. Come," Remy led the way through the curtain of vines further into the small clearing. Toward the shack that now looked more sturdy than at first glance. The posts holding it up were strong and wide. Bolts held together the floor and siding and were covered strategically with the vines and mud. Railing were screwed in and held in place strongly. 

Piling inside the door. The windows were nothing but squares in the side of the walls but on the inside were latches and plexiglass panels to lock into place. Bulletproof. Door securely held onto place by a series of deadbolts. Strong aluminum, because steel and iron rust in this biome. 

Wide open kitchen and living space. Couches and chairs covered with sheets, much dust layered and no mildew to be seen. Kitchen sparse and nearly primitive. With wood fired stove and simple icebox. Bucky and Ward leering at every corner, quickly realizing there was no sign of electricity anywhere. They've lived with less. 

"Two bedroom upstairs, da couch is a pull out bed too." Remy leans his hip again the small but heavy wood table by the stove. Black eyes watching the others. 

"And it's safe?" Bucky asked the Cajun who nodded back at him. That was the only thing that mattered to the man with the metal arm. Keeping his team safe. 

"Oui mon amie, I live here for ten years, not a soul eva find me. Dey looked too." Remy had this slow smirk come over his features that reminded Ward of the first time he's seen Skye take down a dozen men with her bare hands. A macabre triumph. "What the waters don't kill, da gators eat." 

"You be fine here my friends." Remy moved off the table and stood to his full height. Looking over both Bucky and Ward for a moment. "You my fine metal friend, I might have to scrounge for some clothes. But you," he pointed to Ward. "You I may 'ave a few things." 

Remy took the steps two at a time and vanished quickly. The foursome left for a moment before they all felt their shoulders relax some from their tense muscles. Safe. such a strange feeling that they hadn't felt in years. Moving silently and together they pulled the sheets off the sparse furniture, air what there was out. It wasn't much but it was more then they'd had to themselves in a long time. 

Mia opened the few Windows, unlatching the heavy clasps to let what small breeze there was move through the room. Bucky's arms slipped around her waist, his palm lingering for a moment over her stomach for a painful moment before pulling her close to his chest. Her back against his chest. Sweat soaked shirts sticking to the other as they held the embrace even in the heavy heat. It did nothing to make them move away from the other. 

There's a silent understanding between them without any word having spoken. Something precious and rare was taken from them both far too quickly to even comprehend. Somehow they would get their revenge one day. In one form or another. Until then they had each other and the love flowing from one heart to another and back again full force. It's all they needed. A never ending mantra on their souls. 'Next time'

Ward and Skye left them alone for their moment, his arms doing the same to sky's small frame and he nearly growled. Both her and Mia were muscled and strong but there was nothing but bones under it. The jeans on Skye's frame even wet from the swamp water were far too big on her hips. She used to have the slopes and curves of a model and now she was stick thin. Ward detested it, he wanted her healthy, not starved. 

Heavy footsteps came from the stairs, as if Remy was purposefully making noise so not to startle any of them to shoot. He wasn't wrong. Shirts and jeans were tossed at both the males in the room from the Cajun. 

"Thank you Remy," Bucky spoke, clothes dusted in his right hand at his side. Chin resting on top of Mia's head as he held her close to his chest. Letting Remy see the relationship he's saving. Letting gambit in.

"You are welcome mom ami, I may not look da part. But I been through my own hell a few times. Know what it's like to feel safe and how hard it is to trust others." Remy smiles that warm smirk and it just fits his face so well. Reddish brown hair sweat thick and sticking in soft curls against his forehead. Black eyes shining with kindness. 

And Bucky looks to Ward. His right hand. The same respect and trust he puts in Steve right there in a slightly ganglier version of the blonde he's known since childhood. Sees the trust the younger man puts in him no matter what. The brotherhood just as solid as it has been for two years now. Reminding him of who he's leaving behind again, for his own safety and sanity away from the hell they bring with them. 

A pang in his chest for his brother and best friend. But shield is the problem. Full of moles and spies and sleeper agents hidden in the woodwork like cracks in a tree. Far too deep and no way to pick them all out without destroying the trunk to get to them. No Steve can't help him anymore. Not until they're back on their feet and less of the weapons they were made into. 

His gaze lands to Remy. The soft spoken yet lively Cajun that's opened up his best safe house for them. Promising to teach Mia how to control and harness her new powers. There's an uncanny conviction that Remy wouldn't betray them. Wouldn't eat them out or try anything with them. He wants to help. His heart on his sleeve showing his own demons and the black in his eyes was the devil he'd become because of it. 

They all had that stoney expression down pat. It was part of their programming and conditioning and it stuck. Emotions were dangerous things to let loose. Somehow they could Mayen afford to let go of for a little while. Be human again. 

\---------

There's thwacks and grunts coming from in front of the shack. Bucky Ward and Skye all watching from above as Remy attempts to take down Mia and vice versa. All of them realizing very quickly that Remy was more then his powers and fast reflexes. The man could move, like move. 

He had offered to spar with the young woman that morning. It's been two hours. Both of them are coated in sweat and grime from the swampy forest floor. Half an hour into it he had claimed no holds bar. And pulled out a slim price of tubular metal. A flick of the wrist and it was a six foot solid metal staff. He's crooked his free hand at her with his fingers, and Mia had smirked and went on the attack. Not holding back. 

She moved like lightning but they were evenly matched with speed. And what she lacked in bulk of body she made up for in strength from the serum. Landing punches and kicks wherever she could find an opening. Taking hits as if they were buzzing flies, showing no pain as to wether she was hurt or not. 

Bucky watched with a careful eye in case she was injured but he knew the bruises and the ache was what she wanted right now. She needed a release, and Skye and Ward refused to spar with her. Bucky outright refused because he really could hurt her with just his hands. And he'd done so without ever laying a hand on her. The pink scars over her lower abdomen from gunshots a very, very sharp reminder that there's were things he couldn't protect her from. 

Another hit to her left hip and Mia snarls out. A light lavender glow emitting from her eyes as she goes on the offensive again. Sweeping her legs out to knock Remy down but he leaps up just in time and misses her attack. She rolls and stands again, hands forming into fists with the crack of knuckles popping. 

"Ah, there's dat cat. I wondered when you stop being kitten and turn into jaguar chere." Remy grinned as he flicked the staff back and tossed it aside, his own hands glowing instantly as he called on his mutation. 

"That's enough." Bucky's low yet booming voice rose, his feet already landing with a thud as he leapt off the railing and down the eight feet to the ground. 

"No can do mon ami, she need to learn to control it. Pick the emotion best to pull on da fire." Remy's eyes locked with Bucky's for a moment. Expressing as much he could that this was intentional and he knew what he was doing. To trust him. 

Both are a little out of breath. Cheats moving as they take even breathing and Mia staring intently at Remy. That lavender glow changing just a tiniest shade darker as she did so. Bucky turns to her, raising an eyebrow and amazing a million questions at once with a single look. She doesn't even give him a cursory glance, eyes on her target. Gives him a nod and he backs up. Leaving them alone.

She starts prowling around and Remy follows step for step. Watching as she attempts to control and call on the power all at once. There's no balance in her yet. It's a push and pull and she's getting no where. 

"Remember, you control it, only you." She nods slightly, a punch here and a swing there. There's deadly powers in her strikes but Remy can block it not only with his own skill but with his much stronger mutation. 

She's getting angry as he dodges and blocks her attacks, and he needs her angry. A trained hydra assassin. Specialized in hand to hand combat, sniping, bows and knives. Without the serum she's a dangerous opponent even for a seasoned adult. With it, she's downright deadly. But now there's more power inside of her and her body doesn't know what to do win all that extra oomph she's get rolling and boiling. 

He knows she has to let loose of it. The power he aptly calls the fire is strong. It locks at any dark emotion. Heating it and turning a flicker into an inferno. Pulsing at the boundaries and taking over her soul. Learning how to let it out is first to learn. Not bottle it in like Charles teaches his students. No because keeping it taped down only makes it stronger and more violent. She has to learn to be the mutation. 

Mia moves quickly. Using her smaller frame to her advantage and faking left, kicking out with a leg to snap at his knee. Remy is quick too, and knows a single hit like that could shatter his bones for sure. But he's a bit faster. Can dodge the swipe coming at him and lands one of his own toward her side by her ribs. The glow gets brighter.

"Get angry! Don't hold it back!" He growls at her and sees the shift in her demeanor. So far she's been agile and fast, landing hits where there were openings and trying not to outwardly attack him. She was holding back. Her eyes, that are slowly growing a much darker purple, glint with a deadly and cocky glare. 

Her fists are enveloped in the strange power emanating from her core. She's twice as fast as before and she's landing punches and can hear the thuds of fish against flesh. Remy's clothes smoking slightly and singing from every hit he tales. He's tot to make the lesson quick, or he might be fed to the gators tonight. 

And there it is. The opening he's been waiting for this whole time. Smacks a flat palm over her chest, just at the c pillar bone. They both still for a half second, she knows she feels something from his touch to her skin. It's like a burning brand but she feels no pain. And then he pushes, pressure against her and she's thrown twenty feet back. Snacking her against the thick trunk of a tree and her power fades away with her shock. 

"You learn to call on it. Make it do what you want. Use a little or a lot. It all depends on you chaton." He offers her a hand up, notes the smallest change in her eye color from steely blue to a more warm haze. It's already started. 

Her hand clasps with his and she rolls her shoulders as Bucky comes up against her back. tugging her shirt up on her back and to her shoulders so he can see the damage of her being thrown into a tree. Bruising and scrapes but she would be fine. Her gaze locked onto Remy's. 

"You are not the mutation. The mutation is you. Just as much as the concoction that made you stronger is you. Like how you good with dat now and arrow." Remy tilts his head slightly, reddish brown locks slick wth sweat sticking to his forehead. Mia nods, accepting the lesson. Letting Bucky steer her to the shack so he can look over her other injuries.

"M fine Bucky." She grimaces and stretches her back, all of them hearing the pops of it realigning. Bucky tilted her face up with his thumb and forefinger and made sure she locked eyes with him. "Promise love." He nods and his lips linger on her temple before he walks back to the building. Letting her and Remy train again. 

"Call on it." Remy said, crossing his arms, now free of the duster and sweater he seemed to eternally wear. The scars and burn marks marring his mucked skin made Mia look a bit longer then needed. Memories washing up, she feels the ghost like itch of healing skin from a cigar on her shoulder blade. Has to shake off the images. "Use an emotion, don't have ya be the same one chere."

She closes her eyes. Can't find one single emotion running through her that stronger than any other. There's a gut wrenching pain for losing her and Bucky's child so horribly. There's shame and guilt for hating her brother all these years when he only did what he to protect her. Anger, rage filling her up at Shmidt for doing this to her. To them. 

But then there's a small amount of contentment. Of safety and warmth whenever she sees Bucky looking at her with that insurmountable love he has for her. Faith and hope, because all four of them made it out of that sixth layer of hell alive and with their minds their own. 

So she pulled love out of herself. Called it to her hands like she had been told by Remy. Felt the love she felt for Bucky sweep inside her. Because above the rage and the heartache and guilt. He still loves her. 

Remy smiles as Mia chooses the way her power is called. Years ago he used his rage , and it got him nothing but burned for using the volatile emotion that brought pain instead of pride. He sees how she bypasses all that wrath inside her, and uses the strongest one of all. "Right choice chaton. Right choice." 

And she smiles a bit as the glow envelopes her hands. Twists her fingers about as it moves and twines around like a flame over her skin. And she pulls it back. Laughing out just barely in excitement as it vanishes and she feels whole and calm. No trace of the anger she felt moments ago. She does it again and again until Remy is smirking. 

"She learnin fast James." Remy remarks as Bucky comes up to his side. Watching as Mia flicks a small ball of purple lavender energy from one hand to the next. She's not paying any attention to the two men. 

"How powerful is her blast range?" Bucky asks Remy, crossing his arms and leaning into one of the thick posts that hold up the house. 

Remy runs his jaw thoughtfully. "Somtin dat small? Maybe you set your car on fire and the gas tank blows?" Bucky nods. If something that small in hers was that powerful, think of what that giant blast could have done to the school of Remy hadn't been there in time to stop it. Again Bucky is grateful for the man beside him. 

"She a good girl James." Remy praises him for the now smiling young woman across from them. "She hot day hellfire in her dat N'orlens woman 'ave." Bucky chuckles under his breath and nods. 

There's moments of comfortable silence before Bucky starts the conversation again. "You got someone Remy?"

And Remy, he just smiles wistfully and shakes his head. "I had a girl, long time again. When we were young and just startin to work together." He looks up to the canopy above them. "Ah but she loved another. And Remy, he be a swamp rat but he never take that which belongs to other man."

Bucky nods, letting Remy collect his scattered thoughts as Mia starts sweating again from her excessive amount of turning her mutation in and off so many times. Her hairs starting to change back to that dark golden blonde he loves so much. A few inches past the roots it's sprouted out and the black has faded to an almost burnt chestnut color. 

"You lucky James. Dis life you have, it's yours to live and you got someone like her by your side. You are lucky mon ami."

"Sometimes I feel that way, but mostly I feel guilt. Look what I've done to her Remy. Made her into this." He points somewhat as Mia sits low on a tree branch. Crossbow on her wrist and she's shot it in a half second of finding her target. The big snapping turtle gurgling its last breath. Knife in her hand as she starts carving the animal up for dinner, Ward coming up to her side to help. 

"She love you. What more could you ask for?" Remy turned to Bucky, black met blue in a gaze. 

"Our child..." Bucky strolled over to his girl, tucking some hair behind her ear as he leaned down to kiss her temple. She leaned into his touch for a moment as he took the knife from her and he continued her work on the turtle. 

Remy was hit with a pang of heartache. He always wanted children when he was younger. Hoping to find the right girl to settle down with someday. But Thai life they all lead. The unorthodox and strange. The dangerous roads they walk in shadows and kill without thought. They don't get that white picket fence life. But as he watches James with Mia. Even Skye with Grant. He can see some of those few souls that utterly deserve it, yet can't have it in this lifetime. The evidence of that clear as the scars over Mia's abdomen.


	39. Chapter 39

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Been awhile guys... Emotional distress ... This story kills me
> 
>  
> 
> Some idea credited to WinterReadingDixon67! Bless you honey for your help!!

39

The Avengers, are done. They gave every ounce of tech from Shield back. Every contact and half finished mission. Every Shield issued anything, given back. Their records erased from the database. Everything gone. They were done. 

Fury didn't understand. Couldn't figure out how or why the entire team would up and actually quit. He couldn't get anything out of Stark, couldn't even get into the tower. Pepper wouldn't answer his calls. Thor was off world.

Steve had tossed the shield down in the lobby of the playground. In front of every agent around, Fury and Coulson. It rang out in the silence like a blaring alarm signaling the end of something. Romanov and Barton flanking him. Sam Wilson behind Barton. A team standing in defiance. 

"You realize what this means, Rogers." Fury spoke in that way he does, commanding attention from everyone around him. Demanding an explanation.

"I don't care. I don't fucking give a damn anymore." Steve spat angrily at the man who has forced them into missions for almost three years now. Making them stop looking for the only people that matter. And not even trying to help them, not once.

"I am sorry Captain, but I will not waste resources on a lost cause. Barnes is too far gone if he's wiped like he was." His face set in his choice.

"You think this is just about Bucky?" Steve took a step forward, fists clenched at his sides. "This is not just a about him. Three young adults were captured with him. Three kids that were stuck in a life they didn't want because they were good at something. Because they were there and could be useful to someone." Every word was growled out. This wasn't Captain America they were seeing, this was Steve Rogers, a severely rageful Steve Rogers. 

"You wouldn't even spare a single person to help us. We're you're best Fury. Literally. We follow your orders every time Fury. And what does it get us in return? Nothing." Steve picked the shield back up and spun, throwing it with his entire strength. Half of the vibranium disc embedding in the concrete wall a few hundred feet away. Agents gasping at the display. Most forgetting his true strength is but a fraction of what they can see.

"We gave you everything Fury. Now we're leaving." They stood there for a moment before turning and moving as a group to Steve's truck. Silence rang out as doors opened. Not a soul trying to stop them. Too shocked to try.

"Wait!" A small voice spoke up. All eyes turned as a thin girl with brown hair came up from behind Coulson. Her eyes were brimmed with tears as she hugged Coulson, before smiling and walking toward Steve. "Jemma Simmons sir, I'm... I'm Skye's friend. I want to help you find her." Her voice is scared, shaky with a British lilt. A pack over her shoulder and a determined set in her watery eyes.

"Well you're not going without me Simmons." Scottish, Steve thinks as a young man with curly hair comes forward with a duffle bag on his shoulder similar to Jemma's. "Leo Fitz."

"We're not coming back here kids. You should stay." Clint spoke up, sadness in his eyes as he looked them both over. Scientists by the look of it. But this was Coulson's team, they had to be good. But they were kids. Young, with great jobs. They were throwing it all away.

"No. We want to find Skye. And mister Barnes. All of them. They should have been found years ago." There's tears in her young eyes, her love for her friend shining through. Steve can see the anger that agents and innocents were abandoned shine in her bright eyes.

Coulson comes up to them both. Takes her shoulders in his hands and gives her a hard look, like he's trying to find something. And when he finds it he sighs, holds out his hand for their agent badges. The small leather folders tight in his grasp as he looks over the group. 

"Watch out for them, they get into more trouble then my heart can take some days." Jemma chokes on a sob and throws her arms around Coulson for a moment. His arms hug her tight and he whispers somthing in her ear to which she nods subtly and they part. 

Steve motions for everyone to load up. The trucks full and the doors to the hanger open, taillights vanishing in the late night darkness. Fury looks at the embedded shield. The pile of tech made for each Avenger, thrown on the ground with no care at all. The familiar navy blue helmet on the concrete, sitting on its side. Buckles undone and laying limp. Lifeless. It's purpose gone.

The Avengers are done. And it's pretty much all his fault. He knows it. He fucked up. Using a trusted, he thought, line to make sure their plane had landed on that spot of land in Kentucky. He opened up the link and it's his fault four good people were taken by hydra. 

"If it was allowed. I would have adopted Skye as my own. From the day i met her I knew she was special." Coulson's voice came to Fury's left. Glancing at the man he trusted more than anyone else. Seeing the pain in his eyes at the thought of Skye. "All of them are special." Now not only are Skye and Ward gone, so are Fitz and Simmons. 

He left Fury standing there. Agents dispersed and Fury still stood there. Staring at the helmet and shield and everything else. Feeling a terrible guilt well up in him like never before. There were casualties in war, every soldier knew that. But these ones were too close to home. To close to his best and brightest. And it destroyed them. He destroyed the Avengers, with one small mistake. 

Coulson sat at his desk. Little chunks of leather holding shield agent badges. Memories and regrets playing over and over in his head. Starting the day he met Skye and rewinding, fast forwarding. Back and forth. Tears gripped him and he let them fall silently. Hoping. Praying. That FitzSimmons could help bring them all home. And he wouldn't lose anymore of his kids.

\------

Steve keeps driving. Out of the cities and towards the woods of Colorado. Dum dum's family had a cabin up there that they deeded to Steve before the war ended. Hopefully, it was still standing. 

He looked in the backseat, two young adults huddled together with tablets close to the other. Muttering about surveillance and places Skye might have to hide at. Places she would go. Certain ways Ward keeps his presence invisible. Accounts and databases. Their voices hushed and only growing louder if they argued, which would quickly be dispelled as they figured out a solution. They worked in sync, like he and Bucky. 

The trailer attached to the back of the truck shakes a bit. The sound of hooves hitting metal and wood heard in the cab of the truck. Mia's horses were in the trailer. Natasha and Clint refused to leave them, fearful if someone were to sell them on their absence. 

"Should have drugged that thing..." Sam mutters and Natasha only smacks her hand over his head, stays silent as she leans into Clint's shoulder. She hasn't said much of anything in months now. And Clint's showing his age by the stress lines in his face and the little grey hairs popping up along his hairline. 

Clint's phone began to ring, startling everyone from the silence. His brow furrowed as he looked at the screen. No one ever face times him... No one should have his number... He hits accept. 

"Oh good, you answered you cock sucking shit dick." A face appears on the screen and Clint sits up straighter. A scarred face he hasn't seen in years. 

"Wade?"

"No the fucking tooth fairy. Yes it's me you crusty ass limp noodle. You have a lot of fucking explaining to do pencil cock, you know that?" Wade snarls and Clint can tell the man is pacing from the shaky angles of the camera. Can hear the words barely coming out through clenched teeth and blazing eyes. 

"You promised me she'd be safe with you. You FUCKING promised ME!!" Wade's yelling into the phone and without his mask on he looks terrifying when angry. 

"I..."

"Don't fucking say a cotton picking thing you useless arrow flicking fuckturd! You let her go through hell. Literal absolute fucking cactus up the ass with an acid enema hell. And I didn't even fucking know she was missing! My own fucking sister! My BABY sister!"

"You didn't want to know where she was! So she would be safe!" Clint argues over the screen but is stopped by a downright feral snarl from Wade.

"Yeah well, that didn't work did it juice for brains? You listen and you listen real fucking good. She's safe now. From you and anyone else that ever tries to fucking touch her again. She has been through the worst thing a girl can go through and you're not fucking up her life a second god damned time with this Shield/Hydra bullshit anymore, you hear me?! I trusted you to help her, protect her and let her be a normal fucking kid. You fucked that up seven ways to shit Sunday and you're not getting another damned chance. She's my responsibility like she should have been. Don't try and find them. I never should have trusted you, Clint Barton." The line goes dead and Clint is slack jawed staring at the phone. Everyone's eyes wide, the truck pulled over, engine running as Clint processes what just happened. 

"I thought her brother was dead?" Someone asks, Sam maybe. 

Clint nods a bit, watches as his phones screen goes black. "I did too."

\-----

Punch, kick, dodge, jab. Again. Mia and Bucky are drenched in sweat from the humid heat and from their long hours of sparring. There's drops of sweat dripping from her nose. Slicking the back of his neck and down his bare back. Bruises blooming and healing on him but they barely even turn pink on her before they're gone. 

"Come on Bucky, I'm not fragile. Fucking hit me." She snarls because she knows he's holding back but she's right. She isn't fragile in body, only maybe in mind. 

Bucky growls low in his throat. He doesn't want to hurt her. She had been sparing with Remy since dawn when he found her at noon. Beating the man to a pulp more often than not since their first session weeks ago. But the aggression makes her faster, stronger. She isn't backing down and he can see why. She wants to release something that's building up and it has nothing to do with her mutation. 

She's holding it back. He knows she is, has been for weeks. That unbearable ache in his chest is magnified ten fold on her own heart. That loss they have to live with. It's tearing her up inside like a rabid dog snapping and chewing on her juicy blood filled heart. There's healed scars on her body but her soul is destroyed. 

Bucky can't take it much more. The guilt and agony on her beautiful face is destroying him. It's none of there faults but she blames herself every waking moment. And at night the nightmares rip her out of dreams with gasping breaths and sweat soaked skin. She's exhausted from lack of sleep and long hours sparing with Remy and himself and Ward. 

He's reaching out like lightning. Grabbing onto a forearm, twisting her around. Pushing her arm upwards along her spine until she gasps softly in pain. Stilling her movements, his other arm around her waist and securing her free arm to her side. He's caught her legs between his own as he drops to the ground in a spin, pinning her with his weight. 

Her breathing labored but not from the sudden take down or the heavy weight of him on top of her. No she welcomes that weight, it's familiar and safe. It's where his hand is settled on her belly. Above the scars and she's seconds from sobbing relentlessly. 

"This is not your fault." He whispers into her ear, his voice rasping and filled with his own mournful emotions. "Do you hear me?" She's still, not responding. 

Like a blur she's bucked up, surprising him and throwing him off of her back. Back on her feet and the heavy toe of her boot pointed toward his gut. Bucky snarls and grabs her calf, yanking her onto her back roughly to the ground. Scrambling to pin her down with his hips and hands slamming her wrists down to the mossy ground. He knows she can take the abuse from his too strong grip.

Blue eyes wet with tears and anger shifting through. Breaths coming in deep raging motions, chest heaving under him. His eyes bore into her own for long moments. "It's not your fault."

"Yes it is! I'm useless! I couldn't protect you or Skye or Ward. I couldn't protect the baby!" She's screaming after her first word. Voice almost shrill as she struggles fruitlessly under his grip. She may be a super soldier too, but was barely a quarter of the strength of him. 

"You are not! Mia listen to me! None of its your fault. If it's anyone's it's mine. But it happened and there's nothing we can do about it." She's squirming and refusing to look at him. His hands working to pull both her small wrists into his flesh hand. Metal fingers yanking her hair to make her face him. 

"Should have let me blow myself up James!" She's screaming again. Her voice carrying and Remy, Skye and Ward have come out of the house to look over the railing. Watching silently as Mia loses herself in a meltdown. Skye sighing and she can't watch, turning to bury her face into Ward's chest. Because Mia won't let her in, won't open up to her.

"Mia stop! You're gonna hurt yourself!" He's growling down at her. She's struggling so much beneath him. Bruising her skin and it's healing but he knows she still feels the pain. She's close to damaging the small bones in her wrists if she doesn't stop soon.

"Baby please stop.." His words reach deaf ears, he can see it in her eyes. They way they flit about, wide and scared. She's desperate to run and he won't let her do that. "Будь по-прежнему любят, успокойся."

"No! I'm not worth it..." Bucky's moving, sitting back to let go of her wrists and wrap his arms tight around her torso and waist. Trapping her arms to her sides and her thighs trapped under his crotch as he sits back on his knees. Keeping her pinned and tight to him. 

"You are worth everything, everything Mia." He's not sure she's listening, she's tense and her chest is heaving with the effort to breath. So he keeps talking. "God I love you so much baby. You're everything to me.."

"We lost the baby. And it's killing me inside too." His grip lessened a bit and he moves her, pulling her from under him to set her in his lap, arms winding back around her tightly. "But I still love you, it's not your fault. Please believe me Mia, it's not your fault. Baby it's not your fault."

"Bucky..." She's clutching onto his sides with a death grip, nails bluntly digging into his flesh beneath. Sobs wrack her shoulders, gasps for breath that won't fill deflated lungs as she's crying, breaking.

"Shh, not your fault baby. Not your fault." He says it over and over. Hoping maybe it'll sink in. That it's not her fault. That it's none of theirs. Rumlow had it out for him since day one, years and years ago. The bastard had went after his girl, destroying what tiny hope they had for a future, with eight bullets. 

"Just let me go... I'm not worth it..." He barely hears it but it snaps his heart. She just, goes limp in his grip. Like she's given up and he can't let her do that. If she gives up he will, and the world can't handle two deadly assassins with no emotions.

"Never. You're worth everything and I love you." He noses her face back, his lips meeting hers gently for comfort. Arms holding her tight to him. "Baby you are the only thing keeping me from going full soldier." Whispering softly against her cheek with his stubble covered one. 

"You know.. We could always try again..."

She's frozen in his arms and he only holds her tighter to his chest. He knows it's a terrible idea. They couldn't possibly try this again, it's was a tense situation. But dammit it all to hell if he didn't want to. He wants to so badly. He shouldn't have suggested it because it was a horrible thing to suggest to her this soon. 

"What?..." She's hidden in the crook of his neck, refusing to love or lessen the tensing in her body against him. "Джеймс пожалуйста ... вы не можете спросить у меня." The Russian falling from her lips softly. 

He can't deny her and he would never lie to her. So he takes a deep breath and nuzzles into her cheek. "If that's something you want. If it would help you heal. Mia i'd do anything. I love you." Presses soft lips to her ear, turning her so she's tucked under his chin. Knows she feels safest tucked into him like this. Waiting for her to answer him, fight him, scream at him, anything. 

"We can't... Bucky we can't." Choked sobs against his throat as she clutched to his sides. "We're wanted, we're never safe. I can't.... I can't do that to an innocent..." It's like her words are final, stamping into his heart but he accepts it. Because it's what she wants. 

"How can you love me, I'm nothing." She's leaning back now, tear tracks down her diet smudged cheeks, heartbroken blues staring widely up at him. He smiles softly, reaches up with his right hand to wipe away the wetness on her cheeks. 

"Because you're my light." She chokes back, throwing her arms around his neck. They sit like that four an hour. Neither moving or letting go or lessening their hold on the other. As if his arms and body could hold her broken soul and mend it back together. "Пожалуйста, не когда-нибудь свой свет от меня моя любовь, я разрушу небо только, чтобы видеть вас улыбнуться для меня."

Remy and Ward lean against the railing. Watching thoughtfully at the scene that had happened before them. Both with a heaviness on their hearts, Skye having stepped inside for a moment to herself. 

"The torture didn't break her. The months of beatings just made her fight back harder. The serum destroyed her body and rebuilt it and she survived that. She took every hit and punch and slap and wound from every training session and mission without a flinch." Ward spoke gently, voice thick as his eyes wanted to water seeing his sister so messed up and shattered. Remy listening quietly. 

He points down to the bundled and small form of Mia in Bucky's arms down on the mossy dirty ground. "I've seen that girl tame a wild animal with a single touch. I've seen her kill a man without blinking and no training. And take a life that threatened someone she loved. She's so unbelievably strong willed and pure somehow. After all that's happened..." He scrubs a hand over his face to wipe at the stray tear that's falling down to the curve of his upper lip. 

"Losing that baby is what destroyed her." Ward takes a steadying breath, forces the tears back because Skye needs him to be strong. He needed to be strong for her. 

"I don know what it's like ta lose a child. But I know what it's like to lose everything." Remy leans his hip on the railing, thick arms crossed as he watched the couple. How gentle James is when he whispers to his love and kisses the tears away from her cheeks. 

"Are you a religious man Ward?" Remy asked softly, earning a scoff from Ward. 

"Maybe when I was a child and believed in fairy tales. Before my brother killed our youngest brother. After Hydra, I can't believe in something that supposedly loves us to let us go trough some of that. To let something like this happen to her."

"I believe in God my friend. He work strangely. Sometime he take, sometime he give. Other time he take everything. Build something from the ashes and make it stronger and more beautiful." Remy's heart aches for Mia. But he knows she will overcome this in her own time. 

"I think God needs a shot of lead in the balls for doing this to her." Ward snarls softly, he'd kill anyone, anyone. That would even entertain the idea of hurting a baby that was growing inside Skye. Or any other woman for that matter alone. 

"Ah, that be true. But maybe is Fate's way of erasing what Rumlow did, make way for something 'Ames creates with his love, yes?" Remy nods and Bucky lifts Mia up from the ground, helping her to stand. His hands coming up to frame her face and thumbs wiping the tears away. 

"He loves her." Ward peeks inside the window, sees Skye chewing on her nail and pacing the floor. A hand on her abdomen and fear and guilt on her face. 

"Love is simple word for what dey have my friend." Remy walks away, down the steps and out into the bayou. It's late now and he usually vanishes this time of day. Leaving Ward to go inside to check on his own girl. 

Ward pulls Skye from her pacing, into his chest and wraps his long arms around her waist. Lips pressed gently to her hair as she relaxes against him. He can feel the guilt pouring off of her, feels it on himself. 

"How do we tell them? How do we do this without breaking her?" Skye whispers into his chest. Grant takes a deep sigh and holds her that much tighter. 

"We can't. She's already broken. We just have to be there for her. Pick up the pieces." And Skye nods, leaning into his embrace, right hand roaming over her stomach that feels just a bit tight.


	40. Chapter 40

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For those of you that have stuck with this story I thank you for holding on during the twists and turns of the feeling roller coaster I've put you on. I have no idea where this story is going? But it's going.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No beta, any mistakes are my own.
> 
> However the LOVELY WinterReadingerDixon67 has been a huge help to me in keeping this story alive and not dead in the waters. So thank you Hun!

40

The streets of New Orleans are busy no matter what the weather. When it was cool and wet the street performers were gone but those tortured souls that loved to play the violin or sax would stand in the downpour and relish in the cool droplets as they played sweet, mournful music. When it was warm and the sun shone down, dancers would folic about, painters gathering to splash paints to canvas. And when the sun was gone and the moon shines down, throwing shadows over alleyways, the soothsayers, hoodoo and voodoo masters alike come out to peddle pendants and wares, shuffling tarot cards and telling souls what they may or may not wish to hear about their futures. 

Bars were full of tourists and locals alike. The streets of brick and cobble still strong underfoot. Remy adored his city of birth. It was these streets he spent his youth. These back alleys where he learned his namesake of the Gambit, card games his livelihood for the longest of years. His city was strong and bright, deadly and beautiful, a place where anything and everything could happen. It was home to the swamp rat. 

Here is where he keeps his real residence, the one that if anyone who really needed his help could get in touch with him. He wished to leave the small group of runaways time to adjust without his constant presence at night. So he leaves them every afternoon, making his way back through the swamps with practiced ease. 

He plays cards some nights, winning hundreds or even thousands in the back rooms of clubs and bars. Stashing it all in duffles or bags, ever ready in case he needed to move his friends for their safety. Some nights he simply goes to his small home, sits in front of the fireplace and reads old journals or books he has yet to divest his time inside. Many take him for granted that cards and his powers are all he is, in truth, he is very well educated. 

Other times he stays in the swamps. Perched up high in a tree or low to the ground. Listens to the life that constantly evolves and grows around him. The snap of an alligators jaw, the hiss of a snake slithering in the undergrowth, the caw of a startled bird from is nest that the snake just stole an egg from. His home was full of life, on and off the streets. 

Remy's black void less eyes wandered as his thoughts flitted over his minds eye. The way Mia pushes herself into training as if she has something to prove. James' eyes that grow more worried and angered every day he sees his love tearing herself up inside. And he knows why. Women tend to take the loss of child a hundred times worse than the male who helped create it. In truth, Remy thinks, they blame themselves wholeheartedly. And there's really no coming back from that. 

He wishes he could have helped them sooner. Maybe been there in the slopes of the mountains to help the poor young girl who manifested these powers inside herself like she had. But it wasn't meant to be, because she was shot, lost a bit of herself and James, and manifested. Nearly killing her friends a number of times. He was not meant to save the child, no one was.

He didn't pity the girl, he connected with her. He himself manifested as a young boy. Barely into his second decade of life when he was beaten so horribly that he simply, exploded. It took him years to get a grip on the fire that was his power. And that's what it was, a raging red violet inferno from hell itself that burned every cell of his body without killing him. Constantly on the verge of snapping. Always on guard to not let a simple speck let free from his grasp. An easy handshake could kill a group of men. 

He vowed to help them, help her. He wouldn't let this child go through life in constant worry of killing her friends. Would not let her go everyday in fear. Because the key to living with a mutation like this was confidence, not cockiness. She must feel safe in her own skin before she feels safe with her family. Remy would make sure of that. 

He turns his head, the pale moonlight breaking through the canopy of vines and limbs for a moment, letting it's rays reflect off his black demons eyes. And he sighed gently into the night. James had noticed it, so had the others. That bright steel colored gaze of hers was darkening every day. Tiny shade by shade. He wasn't sure how to bring it up to her. Her beautiful, and they were gorgeous, eyes were turning darker and darker. A sign of her mutation. A rarity among mutants for the change but it happened with those who had truly powerful gifts, or the most evil. Remy isn't quite sure anymore. 

So many things are changing for her, for all of them. He knows they're safe there out in the bayou. Hydra would not look for them there, would go international before going back inland and even then no one looks in the swamps. No one really can, the land so unforgiving to those who don't respect her. 

He should send out a call to Wade, tell him his sister is safe but is spiraling. Remy thinks she needs her family, her blood with her. But bringing Deadpool down here would raise suspicion in the city. Wade steers clear of this side of the states for a reason. He can't hide because he knows this is Remy's safe place, and doesn't want to raise questions for mutants hiding in the area. 

\----------

Wham! playing in the background, Vanessa's long hair pulled up into a half bun, plaid shirt on to fight the chill in the tiny apartment. Weasel seated backwards on a dining chair, facing the open room as Wade paced. The red and black suit discarded to the floor as he moves back and forth. Exchanged for jeans and dark hoodie, safe in his home from prying eyes despite the wall of windows on the side. 

"Why didn't you ever tell me?" Vanessa asks softly, her arms crossed loosely as she watched Wade stop his pacing and run his hands over his scarred face. "That's something pretty important to not tell me Wade and I'm your wife now."

"I wanted her safe Vanessa. I haven't spoken a single word about her since the day I left her in Barton's hands." Wade sighed angrily and threw his hand up. "That obviously didn't work! She's been..." 

Wade ran a hand over his face, slumped himself back onto the edge of the bed as Vanessa came to his side and Weasle looked on with sad eyes. "The cancer and the torture, becoming this... It's nothing to what she's went through." He held his face in his hands and if he had hair on his head he would have ripped it out. 

"I wasn't there for her... I'm a piece of shit brother..." Vanessa tried to sooth Wade, in the four years they'd been together, she's never seen him so...broken. And she's seen him with his spine jutting from his shoulder. "She must hate me, I shouldn't have left. Shoulda took her with me... Never left her with that bag of assholes..." 

He keeps mumbling to himself, Weasle and Vanessa having no idea how to help him. They hadn't known about her, about his little sister. Vanessa's heart tightening in her chest in a vice as she thought of what the girl had been through. They didn't even know in detail and what they did know, it made her sick. Only knowing the gist of it through what Wade had overheard by accident and what Remy had told him over the phone months ago when the mutant told Wade his sister was safe. 

"What are you gonna do man? I mean, the Xmen dudes don't wanna help, obviously." Weasle sits up a bit in his chair, hand gesturing about as he spoke, looking through dirty glasses. 

"I'm gonna do like I did chasing that fucking dick eater Francis," Wade spoke up, a determination in his features and scarred face set in anger. "I'm gonna kill every single fucking pussyass Hudra agent until I find the bastard's that started it." Wade reached for his hello kitty duffle bag where he carried his weapons. "And I'm gonna fuck up his world. Let my sister take the last blow, she deserves that at least from this fuckwad..." 

Weasle locked eyes with Vanessa's as Wade started to pace again. Her gaze mirroring his, because even when Francis had Vanessa, Wade was never this... serious. It sent a chill down Weasle's spine and maybe just maybe, he'd need to call some friends from the bar to help Wade out. 

\---------

There's hands pinning down her body. She's screaming but a thick chunk of leather is stuffed past her lips between jaws. Too many hands, all pressing down their weight against her bare body. The lab, she's in the lab. Bright lights blaring down at her, blinding her vision. 

She's strapped down now, thick medieval like strips of leather holding her so tight against the table that she's losing feeling in her fingers and toes. Her screaming and tireless thrashing making no difference to her predicament. It didn't matter.

The needles came next, those long ones that seemed to go straight down to her bones. In every joint and limb section. No anesthetic. Nothing to stop that spine shaking feeling of having hollow needles pressed deep into your flesh and muscle. There's whispered words of removing something. She doesn't understand the mashed conversation flashing back and forth from German and English. 

Tears flow down her cheeks, pooling under the juncture at the back of her neck beneath her. Suddenly she feels hands on her stomach, poking, prodding, pinching. She panics, thrashing uselessly under the heavy straps. It feels weird, like there's something there. She moves her head, the only thing not strapped down, and screams louder than ever. 

Her stomach is swollen, and she instantly knows what's going on now. It's all been a horrible, hopeful, useless dream. They're still at the compound, her night with James a fading memory as the doctors and surgeons spread jelly over her taut flesh. An ultrasound. 

Oh god.

The baby.

She's still pregnant, and it could be either Rumlow's or Bucky's but at this point she doesn't care because they're touching her. They're roughing her! Threatening her baby simply by being near, but they're poking and prodding at her. Maternal instincts kicking in like the turbo on a Diesel engine.

"Approximately 12 weeks to the day..."

"The mixed serums should blend nicely..."

"Should we sedate for the rest of the gestation?..."

"No, it might complicate the birth. Can't risk it..."

"...keep her separated from the Soldier?..."

"...possibly better to keep them that way... He might grow protecti... Can't have that..."

"Hard enou... Control this one..."

A new needle is pushed into the pulse point of her neck, her screaming hoarse as a molten lava like substance was pushed into her blood stream. Her fingers twitch and reach, failingly reaching for her swollen stomach to protect her baby. Wet fat tears dripping down her cheeks. Her head slammed back onto the table by giant hands make the tears stop for a moment. 

Her heart stops, it shows on the moniter that it did. Her captor and rapist smirking down at her with a smile so sadistic fresh tears start falling and a fear filled fury flaming in her steely blues. Rumlow smirking down at her, his hands almost gently tracing her sweat soaked hair from her face. His touch visibly making her flinch and she hates that he can do that to her. 

"Look at you sweetheart, all bred and feral. Like a little bitch." He sneers down at her, leaning forward and his upside down face is staring down at her in glee as this new substance starts to take effect. She can feel something happening, something was wrong, her fingertips tried again to reach for her stomach. They were shoving something into her system, to the fetus.

"Ah ah ah, we gotta keep you still, otherwise the soldier juice won't get into that bastard of yours." He laughs down at her as she snarls an inhuman sound behind the leather gag. Throwing her head to the sides to no avail. 

Her hair is ripped and grabbed at the roots, head thrown back and slammed into the table. There's a dent on the solid metal, blood starting to pool slowly under her. Matting her hair and her vision hazes. 

"Don't worry Conquest, I'll make sure the Soldier knows it's his and not mine.... We've got to breed the next generation of assets after all..."

....

"MIA!!" She comes to with a gasp, body trembling, clothes soaked to the bone with hot sweat. The smell of burnt grass and wood coming to her senses as she tries to see through tear filled eyes. 

Bucky's got her in his arms, the thick limbs locked into place to allow her no room to escape and after several moments of struggling she could finally see why. Her eyes, clear of the purplish haze now, could see several downed limbs, a tree snapped in half and the carcass of a gator spread sound her. All smoking and a scent similar to sulfur permeating the air. 

"Вернись ко мне пожалуйста. Вы в безопасности, у меня есть ты.." (Come back to me please. You're safe, I've got you.) His words are whispered Ito her hair, his body rocking them forward and back gently. Soothing her, keeping her safe from herself. 

Her fingers dug into his sides, nails ripping into flesh with her strength but he doesn't care. His hold changes, less strength and more comfort as he pulls her into the crook of his neck. Her silence broken as gut wrenching wails came from her throat. Thick heavy sobs rupturing her vocal chords with the sound. Vaguely she knew Skye and Ward were close by for support and she loved them for it but she needed James. She needed him. 

"Nig...nightm....." She stutters out between chest heaving sobs. Clutching onto Bucky like a terrified cat just dragged out of the river from drowning inside a canvas bag. Gasping for breath that wouldn't come and fill her chest. 

"Shhh shhh, Babygirl. I got you..." His voice was rough, emotion filled as he held her to his chest. His own tears slipping down to be lost into her sweat soaked hair. "Я буду держать вас в безопасности, ты в безопасности со мной." (I'll keep you safe, you're safe with me.) The Russian falling from his lips easier than English and meaning so much more because of it. 

"The baby... Oh god the baby..." Her strangled wails turned into cries as she pushed off of his chest. Dumping herself to the scorched ground where her powers had gone out of control. Her hands literally ripping the shirt from her stomach, nails digging into flesh and the scars on her abdomen. Blood spreading from her self abuse, as if trying to claw the skin and sinew away. 

He grabbed her hands in a death grip, and thankfully she stopped trying to claw out her own innards. Watched as she panted heavily, basically hanging in his grip. Her small wounds healing before his eyes, the flesh spreading and knitting back before it scarred and healed in seconds flat. Not even pink marks left behind and once again he's hit with her incredible healing. But it's the last thing on his mind as she started sobbing again. 

"I thought... We were back, we never got out and and... And they were doing an ultrasound and ... And Rumlow ..." A snarl left Bucky's lips as he pulled her back into his chest, slamming his left fist into the ground, sinking his prosthetic fingers into the packed dirt so he won't accidentally hurt Mia it's his inability to control the strength of the limb.

"He said the baby was yours... They were doing tests, more serums.... And they were going to keep up separate..." The voice grew more and more soft as she yelled it into his neck. Her tears flowing down his collarbone. 

Anger, rage, fear flowed into Bucky more and more as she spoke. And honestly he had been waiting for the nightmares to start up. She held them off for much longer then he had thought. But the longer you push them away, the harder they come back. He knows, God he knows. Knows she's blaming herself, and he can't seem to get through to her. Can't make her see the truth of it all. 

"We can't let them find us James." Her voice held some of the steel he was used to, but it was a small fraction of what her strength should be. Her grip on his back breathtaking like a vice as she clung to him. 

"Я уничтожу их для принятия моего ребенка." (I'll destroy them for taking my baby). There it is, the steel in her voice that matches the resolve in her eyes. The way she clutches onto him not only for comfort but because he's the only thing in the entire universe keeping her there and not out blowing up every man she sees. 

Both of his arms now encase her to his chest, his nose buried in her neck before his teeth graze teasingly over the full mark he'd left so long ago. He'd been soulless when it happened but it meant no less now than it did then. Maybe more now. And the way she purred almost, clutched to his back, gave a tiny arch of her own, made it solidify in his heart that she didn't care about how she had gotten it. Only that it was him that did it. 

"Мы возьмем их все мое сердце, каждый последний." (We'll take them all down my heart, every last one.). He growls into her neck, his voice loud and strong in her ear as his teeth sink into that spot. Just inside the curve where shoulder meets neck. It's animalistic and primal. But it's solidifying not only his connection with her, but their sudden pact to never let this happen again, to anyone. 

He would slit throats, gouge eyes, do anything at all possible to kill every Hydra agent in his wake. For taking his life, for breaking his girl, for ripping their child from her before it had even breathed it's first lungful of air. He eyes darkened and he welcomed the feeling of the Soldier coming over his body. The soldier part of his brain had a new mission. He was himself, but he would never be Bucky again. Not after this. 

And as he held his girl in his arms, her broken soul shattered across the earth around them, he reserves himself to go until the very ending of his life to protect her. His hair, much longer now touching over his shoulders, ruffled in the light breeze as he glared into the darkness around him. He felt the pull of the Soldier on his mind and body, letting him finally take control of his maximum skills. The soldier would protect Conquest and James would protect Mia. They were forged together now, a perfect set. The human sides and the weapons they were made to be.

"Я осмелюсь их, чтобы попытаться взять нас снова..." (I dare them to try and take us again.) He whispered and she could hear the rage in his voice and for the first time since she's experienced it. She took it in, relished in it. Accepted it and her own. Hydra would pay for what they had taken from him. 

Hell hath no fury...

\---------

Ward watched as James paced across the floor of the main room downstairs. The small stove flooding heat into the small building as he folded out a map of the earth. A giant thing that spilled over every end of the large dining table. Bucky stopped his pacing tapping metal fingers down onto the map, locking eyes with Ward. 

"We're taking them down. This life, this hell, this futile running isn't working. We have to fight back. Take down every last one of them." Ward nodded, agreeing with James completely, yet his eyes flickered to Skye who was going over to Mia. Taking her hand and asking her to go outside with her. 

James looked up, saw she was simply going outside and focused back on the map. Taking a marker and placing dots where he knew bases were located. Calmed in the fact that Mia had resolved something inside herself last night and would be fine in controlling her powers at the moment. 

"Skye?" Mia called her friends name, the brunette only grimaced and led her further away from the house toward the edge of the water. Skye wrapped her arms around herself and Mia could tell something was bothering her best friend. 

"I... I don't know how to say this without being a total horrible bitch of a best friend..." Skye whispered softly, a hand coming up with wipe the tears forming from her eyes. Worry etched over Mia's features and she reached out only for Skye to take a small step back. Mia dropped her hand. 

"Skye you tell me what's wrong now." Mia almost growled, shocked by her friends reactions. She was still emotional from her nightmare last night and was not in the mood for anything like this. 

"I'm pregnant, at least Ward and I think I am... And I know it's awful because you lost your baby and I hate myself I fucking hate myself for doing this to you... And and I can't take you being mad or upset with me because you're my best friend, my sister and we've been through so much shit together and and ..." Her tearful tirade was cut short as Mia's arms wrapped around Skye. Her hug strong and firm as Skye started to cry in earnest and wrapped her own arms around Mia. 

"I could never ever in a million years be mad at you for something beyond your control right now.." Mia whispered into the brunette's hair, her heart not taking the news well but she pulls it together. Her own pregnancy was a surprise and the loss as well but Skye didn't have any control over it either and she would NOT be mad at her for something out of anyone's control. 

It hurt, Jesus Christ did it hurt to hear that. But she wouldn't put blame on anyone. She just hugged Skye, gave her a smile the brunette hadn't seen in a long while and went back into the house. Arms linked and Mia with a tiny smile still on her lips. Lasting longer then any she's had for months now. She'll deal with that piece of her heart later, now she needs to be there for her friend.

\------

The cabin wasn't in half as bad shape as Steve had first thought. Someone had been hired years ago to upkeep the property, paid handsomely and was a kind man. A trusted family friend of Steve's late commando brother. 

The log building looked small but had a full basement converted into more bedrooms, giving the building six in all. The floors were old smooth cedar and the fireplaces with stone made with creek and river rock. It didn't have much furniture, but Sam and Clint took off with the truck for that. The twins, which is what they were calling FitzSimmons, were already working on creating their internet system somehow. "We aren't as good as Skye but, we'll manage." Simmons had said with a slight smile at the mention of her friend. Steve couldn't take it. He walked outside.

It had a small barn, it was single story but held three stalls and without a word he had started cutting down thin trees, working tirelessly for hours after just arriving. Making logs for fences. Working with his hands had always helped Steve calm his thoughts. But this time it wasn't working.

He'd been at it for hours now, his shirts now discarded leaving him sweaty and chilled from the cold air but he didn't care. Welcomed the bite of it as the sound of the axe cutting and the fall of wood was all that was around him. The soft slap of metal to skin as the tags he wore moves with him. 

He panted, slamming the axe down into the stump with a soft grunt of anger. Hand now clutching at the metal military tags on his neck. The ones that have his best friends name on them. The one he's tried and tried to save and he just can't keep him safe. Keep him away from Hydra. 

Guilt and despair flow over his heart from it. He should have tried harder to save Bucky from the train. He should have looked harder for his body. He should have made sure Bucky was truly dead before sinking himself in the ice. He shouldn't have let Fury control him like he had. He shouldn't have tried so hard to make a man who didn't want to help, help him. He shouldn't have fought with Tony about the accords. 

He shouldn't have.... He should have. A never ending mantra inside his head. Over and over and over again. A screaming mantra inside that grew louder and louder until he'd had enough. A roar left his lips, he lifted a sapling he had cut earlier, at least six inches or more thick. And broke it over his knee, turning to the wood pile and going at the inanimate objects as if destroying them would help him in some sort of way. He was wrong. 

He felt eyes on him, knew someone would come outside after that feral scream he had let loose and all his huffing and puffing, throwing splinters of wood here and there. Letting loose his entire strength. He turned, his face draining slightly of its flushed angered color. Jemma Simmons, the tiny little British young woman, stood clutching her tablet to her chest like a shield as if it would save her from his rage filled onslaught. There were a few tiny splinters in the locks of dark chestnut hair. 

"Jesus, Jemma I'm sorry you had to see that.." He flustered over his words, scrubbing at his face and neck, slick with sweat and covered in sawdust. 

"It's alright." She mumbled softly before finding her voice, as if shaking the awkwardness from herself. "You should have seen it when Ward tried to stop Skye from going out on missions. She went totally ballistic and destroyed an entire gym in the playground." Her accent making every word sound intelligent but she really was. And talking about Skye just made her face fall a bit and for Steve's mood to plummet yet again. 

"Sorry, I came out here for a reason, Mr.Stark is on the video chat and wants to speak with you Mr. Rogers." She's still clutching that tablet to her chest but her grip is much more relaxed now. 

"Please Jemma, I would rather you call me Steve. I'm tired of formalities to be honest." He picked up his shirts, heading inside, Jemma not far behind him. 

She didn't answer only nodded a bit sheepishly and followed after the super soldier. Into the house and toward the living room where there was a folding table holding a laptop. Primitive really compared to what Steve was used to, but Tony could maybe help with that. 

Steve slumped into the folding chair in front of the screen, watching as Tony's always cocky face turned sour and frowned at the sight of the once captain. He was haggard and unkempt, Steve knew that, his stubble was turning into a light beard and his hair was a bit longer. Eyes holding that hollowed look from no sleep and extreme stress. 

"Rogers you look like absolute crap." Blunt as always Tony told it how he saw it. And he was worried. 

"Thanks Stark." Steve crossed his arms, leant back in the folding chair. The metal groaning under his weight as he moved. 

"You okay man?" Tony asked seriously, Pepper popping up in the frame beside him looking just as concerned if not more so then Tony. 

It took him a moment to think on that answer. To really think about it. He was not by any means at all, okay. He was not okay. His best friend was gone, hiding away so Hydra wouldn't find him. Protecting people, practically kids, that had been stolen and abused for years. People that he, Steve Rogers, should have protected. That's his job, protecting those weaker from Hydra. And he'd failed. He'd failed Bucky and he'd failed Skye and Ward and he failed Mia. The only person that Clint and Natasha had in this world.

"No, and I won't be until Bucky and those kids are safe." That was all he said on the matter and Tony respectfully left it alone. Instead they talked weapons, security, Tony would send cloaked drones as soon as possible. 

"Steve." Tony asked, gaining his attention from Jemma who had been helping explain the security system Tony would be sending in the next hour. 

"Yeah Tony."

"You want a new shield?" There was a tense silence, Jemma leaving and joining Fitz in the other room. Steve staring blankly at Tony's mirror image looking at him. Did he want a new shield? Something to replace the old? Replace the symbol he had been made into? The answer was yes. 

"On one condition." He said a tiny little twitch at the corner or his lips as Tony's face split into a grin. 

"Anything." 

"Make Buck one too." Tony stared at him for a moment and nodded. Even though he didn't love James Barnes. Tony would help Steve find him and help the man broken from Hydra. Because no matter what he had done, Bucky deserved something. Ideas already floating into his head. 

"You got it Rogers. I'll be there within the day to install the system and a version of Jarvis for you." The screen went black.


	41. Chapter 41

41

James watches as she changes clothes. Peels the wrinkles one away from her skin, tosses them to the corner. Inch by inch of flesh unveiled to him in the early morning light. The scars across her stomach stark against her soft flesh. The stark outlines of her tattoos over her thighs.

A pride in his chest as he sees how she winces trying to pull on her clean jeans. Knows it's from the long night of him loving her deep into the mattress for hours. 

He's been gentle with her for months now, longer than he thinks. Hasn't intimately touched her since they first started on the run. Hasn't initiated any sexual desire since finding out about her pregnancy. And hasn't dared since they lost that life. 

But something changed late last night. Something inside of her woke up, or went to sleep, whatever it was made her want him. And he gladly reciprocated every touch and caress and bite and kiss until she fell limp and sated on the mattress early in the morning. 

She turns a bit, catches him watching her every move with a hunters gaze and her lips almost, almost quirk into a smirk. He's knows it's not much, but it's a start. She's coming back to herself piece by tiny fractal piece. And he's gonna be there every part of the way, placing every chunk and shard back where it's supposed to be. And making sure they'll never break apart inside again. 

It's more than love when he looks at her. It's more then wanting to spend a life with someone. It's like... She's taken his lungs from his body and replaced hem with her own. So when she's breathing, he breathes. Like she's somehow pulled his soul from his flesh and replaced it with her own. Replacing the black inky shadows inside of him with her glowing sunlight she somehow still had. But it was dimming.

It's more than love. It's his entire reason for being right there in front of him brushing out her hair and pulling it up into a ponytail. If she ever left, if somehow she ever left this plane of earth. He'd off himself then and there. A bullet straight to the temple with his own gun. Quick and simple. There's no reason for living without her there with him. There just isn't. 

"Come're." He whispers gruffly, reaches out and takes her hand in his. Tugging her over to him, pulling her knees on either side of his hips, making her gently straddle his lap. His large hands across her back, holding her smaller body against his hips and chest.

She's looking at him in that way she always has, since they first met. In the way that says she can take care of herself, but trusts his judgment no matter what the situation. Trusts him implicitly with those steely blues. The ones that are slowly growing darker and would soon lose that special color. 

"We're gonna take em all down. Every last one. You and me." He reaches up and cradles her left cheek in his cold hand, feels the warmth of her skin deep into the metal. Just like how she warmed his heart.

"Me and you against the world huh Barnes?" She quirks her lips a bit, a little tiny spark in her eyes as she slips her arms around his shoulders to card her fingers into the hair at the base of his neck. That fire in her smoldering and stoking itself.

"Yeah baby, me and you." He pulls her to him by the back of the neck, kisses her slow and sweet until they have to breath again. Wishing it didn't have to be that way but not seeing any other option. 

They stayed in. Didn't venture outside In The chilly air to train or spar, didn't walk about under the building or sit together as the rain come down. They stayed wrapped up in each other and spending time with their friends. Knowing Bucky and Mia would soon leave and Remy would take Skye and Ward to a different safe house. Where she would be close to trusted medical if needed, because she was most definitely carrying. 

\------

Tony decided to pick them up himself today. The bright orange Acura stood out on the gravel round drive of the Xavier school. But that was the Stark way. He made his way up the steps, sidestepping young children as they ran from classes towards parents cars or out into the grounds, free for the afternoon. 

Wanda and Pietro were both headed to the main door, surprised to find him there instead of Happy or Rhodey. The former smiling anyways and leaving up to hug him quickly which Tony reciprocated to his adopted daughter. Reaching over to ruffle Pietro's hair but was too slow as usual and the silver haired teen smirked. 

"Too slow." Tony merely grinned back. They'd come a long way in the years since Sokovia. Him trying and trying and trying to gain there trust and eventually, he had. Somehow. He thinks Pepper was a huge part in that but he'll never know. 

"You do not usually come to fetch us Tony." Wanda said, questioning his motives with a slightly raised dark eyebrow. 

"I need to have a few words with the Professor." He gave a small smile and started to look for one of the teachers. It didn't take long. The red headed one, Jean, came down the stairs and gave him a smile. 

"Mr. Stark, what a surprise." She started but she didn't need her telepathic ability to see the frown lines he was trying to hide and the stress he was barely holding in check. "The Professor is in his office, I'll take you there." 

She turns and smiles at the twins, "I do believe Eileen is out in the garden with a fluffy surprise for you Wanda. Pietro don't startle it." Tony's eyes narrow only slightly, he's sort of used to the strange ways of the institute. Otherwise he follows Jean up the steps and to the left wing where the Professor's office is located. 

He's got a million and one questions swirling around in his head. Wondering if Xavier knew where Barnes and the others were. If the man could maybe locate them. If the twins were safe. Should he move residences for their safety. And a few dozen more. 

"You're projecting Mr. Stark." Jean's soft voice startled Tony out of his own head and he smirked, shrugging and pushing his sunglasses up onto his forehead. 

"Sorry, Wanda tells me that too, says I need to..."

"Work on your mental blocks." Jean smiles softly and stops in front of the thick wooden doors. "She's a remarkable telepath Mr. Stark. And Pietro is much smarter than he lets on." She smiles as a teacher does when talking about her brighter students. "May I suggest working with Pietro on his mathematics? He may have a knack for engineering if he puts his mind to it." She leaves then, turning and walking down down the hall with that gracefulness Tony has only seen Pepper have. 

He turns and knocks gently on the door and hears a soft 'enter' so he does. Tony takes a look around the office, he's always liked the modern side of wealth with the sharp and smooth corners and sleek furnishings. But Xavier preferred old school money. Overstuffed leather and felt chairs, centuries old paintings and crown molding. It reminded Tony of his fathers tastes. 

"Mr. Stark, I was not expecting you. The twins' parent teacher meeting is several weeks away." The old man smiled from behind the heavy dark wood desk and somehow Tony knew he was holding something back. 

"Well I have some questions for you that only you can answer. And I would love the truth." Tony's got this gut feeling Xavier knows what Tony wants to ask. He gently closes the door behind him with a soft click and the smile vanishes off of his face as he takes a seat across from Xavier. 

Xavier let out a soft sigh and nodded, his fingers steepled under his chin. "I would like to call in two of my team, they can fill in the gaps and recall what really happened when they arrived."

"So you knew where they were?" Tony closed his eyes fearing the answer. 

"Only at the very last of their plight i am afraid..." Tony couldn't feel better about the information. He still couldn't have done anything. 

Tony zoned out for a second, forefingers lining his jaw as he stared at the grains of wood on the desk before him. A knock and people entering made him look up, but he didn't sit up straighter or smirk that cocky way he does. He didn't have it in him anymore. Not right now.

A tall man, thickly built with wild dark hair and a scowl to curdle dairy walked in. Followed by a petite woman with dark chocolate brown hair and shocking white stripe of bangs. They came in, closed the door and both moved to stand behind the professor and to face Tony. Solemn expressions on their faces.

"Okay, start from when you found them..." Tony asked and the man, Logan, and the woman, Marie. Told every last horrifying detail to Tony Stark as he sat, sitting more frozen at every word coming from their mouths. 

Tony sat there staring off into the distance for a few moments, the mutants in the room respectfully giving him time to process what had transpired after tracking the group, Rumlow's sadistic attack, the rush to save both mother and child, the devastation from the aftermath, the Cajun mutant who could help and the speedy departure. 

The billionaire stood, walking to the large bay window at the back of the room, his palms leaning on the sill and he lowered his head, shoulders hunched. Trying and failing to hide the tears that wanted to fall. One slipped down his cheek, over his stubbled jaw and further to his neck before he pulled them back with a shaky breath. He just.. Couldn't comprehend what had happened while they had been trying so hard to find Barnes and the others. Guilt weighing like a hundred tons of vibranium on his heart. 

"And the Cajun, Remy? Do you know where he took them?" His voice was shaky, trembling. He clears his throat. 

"We were told not to follow or track them and we haven't. I have heard from Remy once since their departure and he told me they were quite alright in his care.."

"I don't care if they are or not." Tony stopped Xavier's next words as he spun around. Logan gave a soft growl and it was just loud enough to make Tony glance at the man and wonder suddenly what kind of person would make that noise. "I want to know where they are. Those kids need to be brought home." 

"I'm sorry, Remy is advanced at blocking his mind and while I expected to find the others I could not. I believe that because of the programming and torture they have have been through, subconsciously they have mental blocks up without realizing it. I am sorry Mr. Stark, but I cannot find them." Xavier solemnly bowed his head. 

He had tried, on many different occasions these last months to no avail. The group really did have impeccable mind barriers that had subconsciously came to be from their mental trauma. It made even cyrebro unable to find their mutant signatures. 

Tony took a long heavy sigh and instead went for his next questions. "Are my kids safe?" Xavier had never heard the man call the twins his children before, it made a warmth come into him. 

"I think that they are fine as long as you are around Mr. Stark." Tony nodded and stood up straighter, fixing his sport coat. 

"Then with all due respect professor I'm withdrawing them for the forceable future. I want them safe and since Barnes didn't feel safe here then I don't want my kids here either." Xavier only nodded but his brow furrowed. 

"If I may ask a question of my own?" Tony blew a heavy breath through his nose as an answer. "Would you mind taking young Eileen with you? She only speaks to the twins and I fear her separation from them would slow and even hinder whatever progress we have made with her." 

"What? You want me to, what? Take one do your students with me? Isn't that weird?" Tony was incredulous, surely her parents wouldn't approve and he didn't know how to deal with kids. He was just getting used to being an adoptive father of teenagers. 

"She is the same age as the twins and has seemed to attach herself to young Wanda. She is mute in any other situation besides when with the maximoff girl." Xavier moved his chair to the bay window, pointing out gently for Tony to look down at the hedge garden maze. 

Wanda and Pietro were sitting on the stone benches beside a slightly shorter girl. She had on black rimmed glasses and had a sweet face and was holding what looked like a wild rabbit in her arms. In fact Wanda had one too and Tony could see their lips moving just slightly. He smiled, it was a rare sight for Wanda to be smiling happily even now. As if hearing his thoughts Wanda looked up and waved gently up at the window. 

"She won't speak?" 

"Not for a long time now, at least not when a teacher is around." Xavier started but Logan finished. 

"She can talk just fine just chooses not to. Had to blow off some steam so I went hunting and came back and she started screamin at me. Girl had a wide vocabulary that's for sure." He gruffed a response. 

Tony looked down at Wanda, she was still looking up at him and suddenly she nodded. If that didn't make his decision nothing else would. So he turns and gives another heavy sigh. "Parents?"

"She is an orphan since the age of twelve. Has been a student here for a while now."

"Fine, but if something happens...." He started out of the doors and missed the relieved looks on Marie and Xavier's faces as he walked down the steps. 

"Think she can help them?" Marie asked softly, sitting in the chair across from the desk. 

"I hope so my dear, I hope so." Xavier watched from the window as Wanda told the other girl to go pack and Eileen was dashing back into the house and out of sight. 

Tony had gone to the gardens but the twins met him halfway, softly speaking and though Charles could feel the sadness from Wanda about leaving the school, she was also determined to help where she could. 

The trio of teenagers piled into the expensive sports car and Tony drove away. There was no fanfare, no spinning tires and no sprayed gravel. He left as calmly as he came. 

Logan stood still at the window for a few moments in the silence after Tony Stark drove away from the institute. He was getting a gut feeling in his being. One that had never been wrong in his long, long life. It was a foreboding of a fight soon to come. A feeling that he needed to make a stand. A stand with the avengers and not the xmen this time around. 

His eyes lifted to face that of Charles. The old man gave a weathered smile, a crinkling of skin as he did so. A silent understanding that Charles had with Logan and the man's few words. Charles knew Logan well, when the need hits the Wolverine to go, he doesn't hold the man back from his animal. Logan will return in his own time. 

"I'll have Scott take over the defense classes." Logan have a gruff response and nodded to the old man in the wheel chair. His hand taking Marie's as they made their way out of the office and towards their rooms. 

Marie simply went along with Logan. She would go where he went no matter the reason. And she knew what he was about to do. He wanted to take down the bastards in hydra. This new and old threat to mutant kind. His claws had been itching for some time now to slice through something. Marie just hoped this wouldn't end in bloodshed and the loss of another ally or friend. 

They both saw the cause in front of their eyes. The others, the true xmen, didn't see it for what it was. Thought it not their problem unless the mutant community was attacked forcefully. That's why Logan and Rogue, Gambit and Deadpool, that's why they stayed away from the mansion as much as possible. They saw hydra and other groups. Taking the ones who hadn't manifested. Destroying lives and minds and families and societies under the shadows.

No one would think twice about the group of four that left with Remy. None but the Wolverine and the Rogue. Because they see the outside world beyond the institute and schools and colleges and politics. They saw the real world. And the wars brewing without a single persons knowledge until too late. And they were going to fight. 

\---- 

"You're not leaving on this suicide mission without me!!" She screamed at Ward once again. It had been like this for hours now. The clearly three month pregnant young woman was not having it. 

"Skye! Look at yourself will you?! You're pregnant! PREG-NANT! As in carrying a baby!" Ward shouts back at her, hands gesturing wildly before they go to his recently shorn hair as if to yank it out.

And she was. Pregnant that is. It was clear as day now, the swelling of her stomach and abdomen. The at home test Remy had brought them a week ago simply made it more official. And she was by no means going into this fight like that. And she knew it, she just didn't want to admit it. 

Mia and Bucky both sighed softly, tired of the fighting and the hormones that Skye was beginning to display. They needed her safe so Remy was taking her and Ward to another safe house. And Bucky refused to let Ward go off on this mission. Skye would need Grant after this was all over. They would need each other while Bucky and Mia went to meet up with Wade. 

"Enough!" Bucky barked and Ward actually flinched a tiny bit. A twitch of the shoulder and the corner of his eye. The larger male walked up to ward, gently clasped his shoulder in his rough hand. 

"You're staying with her Ward. There's no argument." Bucky's glared down at the younger male. Dark orbs met icy storms and Ward relented with a heavy sigh and nod. 

There WAS no argument. Bucky's decision was final. Ward needed to stay and protect Skye. And Mia would join Bucky on their most likely suicide mission to take down hydra. There was nothing more to discuss or argue over. They were doing this. 

Remy moved from off the wall where he had silently let the group fight it out. Knowing that James would make the call and the others would fall in line because of their trust in his judgement. 

"It be alright chère." He smiled in that gentle way he could even with his demon eyes and dark aura that followed him. "You be safe, Remy promise." 

He pulled a simple cellphone from his pocket. A burner. One and done type phone. It was powered off but charged. He tossed it to James who caught it easily in his grip, stashing it into his back pocket. Nodding to the mutant across the room. It was time to move. 

\----

Ward held Skye's hand on the drive to the next safe house. His thumb running back and across her knuckles. Soothing her. Her hormones were one thing. But she was distressed now. Leaving Mia like they were, it felt wrong. To be separated from them. 

"They'll be alright Skye." He didn't need to say why. James and Mia, they were different then Skye and Ward. Harder, stronger. There was a darkness that had seeped from Bucky straight into Mia. Shadowing that light inside her.

Mia had lost her ability to want forgiveness or give it. James had no want or need to be anything anymore, he knew what he was, accepted it. They'd spent too long in the darkness together. Too long drenched in Crimson blood to ever come back out the other side anything but demons. 

Skye feared that they would t come back themselves. That they'd be even more covered in red and shadows. Or worse, they'd be caught.

"Have you thought of any names?" Ward asks softly, bringing her out of the dark thoughts of her mind. 

Skye smiles gently and leans into wards shoulder. Needing his comforting presence. 

\-----

Steve walked out to the barn. The afternoon rays trying to shine through the cloud cover. His boots crunching lightly on the spattering of snow on the dead tall grass. There was a nice wooden post fence against the small barn now. It had taken him only two days to cut the wood and build it. Two days where he could focus on something else. That was a week ago. 

Now the brute of a horse named Leonidas stood proud in the small paddock. His mane and tail black and rich against the pale white background around him. The dusting of snow along his back as he raised his head and looked at Steve. 

Looked at him as if he knew the pain in the man's eyes, shared it with him yet the horse stood proud whereas Steve slumped his posture. There was no pride in him anymore. None.

Steve leaned his elbows on the wooden fence. Watched the animal for moments on end, neither one moving to the other. Not wanting to breach some sort of invisible line between them. It's like if he moved the horse would spook and attack. Or if Leo stepped forward Steve would flinch as if Mia's spirit would come through the animal and maul him for his failures. 

He watched the flick of his big ears. Listening to all around him. The way his massive chest stretched and shrank with the slow even breaths he took. The way every muscle seemed tense and yet relaxed all at once. And Steve's hit with a realization of how big the animal truly is. 

Leo isn't some standard saddle bred horse that is used for city police work or for parades. He's a giant of a beast, shoulders even with Steve's own, maybe even a few inches more than that at Leo's full height. He tried to remember what breed the animal was, Clint telling him so long ago he has to sort through memories of haziness. Belgian. That's what it was. He recalls Clint saying it was a breed of work horse. Yet Leo is bigger than most.

Leonidas takes his namesake and truly shows it. The stance of pride and power. The strong muscles and sinew, always ready to take off at a given moment. The huge heavy hooves under legs just itching to kick and hit. The gentleness towards only Clint or Natasha in the way he nuzzles their cheeks and asks for apples. 

The horse looked like it rolled off the set of a renaissance movie or medieval festival. Or maybe as if it's armor was gone and it was ready to ride it's way into battle once again. 

Somehow without Steve even realizing, the animal had moved. Leo was standing a few yards away. Close enough that Steve could see some tangles in his long mane. A few strands of hay caught in his tail. The way his muzzle was wet after drinking only a while ago. Leo was watching him as if he knew exactly what Steve wanted to say but couldn't find the words. 

So Leo made that first move. His hooves thudded gently, almost silently on the frost and snow covered ground where hooves had packed down the grass. His dark eyes only becoming darker as he approached the super soldier who held so much guilt on his presence the animal was doing the only thing he knew what to do. 

Comfort. And though this human was larger than his own small female, he knew when the emotions ran so rampant on a soul only the touch of a pure soul could help ease the ache .

With instincts as his guide, Leo reached the fence. Stuck his muzzle out and gently pressed at Steve shoulder up and down a few slow times. Let the man decide wether her wanted the touch or not. When Steve neither reached out nor pulled away, Leo tilted his chin down and rubbed his large wide forehead against Steve's chest and shoulder. 

Pushing gently at the man until hands roamed over Leo's neck. And then those hands fisted in his mane and Leo held still as the large human male shook with unshed tears. Didn't wince as strands of hair were pulled free, only offered what he could as comfort and solace to the grieving and guilty male. And Steve cried, and he cried into Leo's neck. He'd held it back for so long, thought he could do it. But the guilt weighed too heavy and he'd been strong for too long. The dam broke. 

Clint and Natasha watched from the windows as Steve finally let go. How he clung to Mia's horse like Natasha had done months ago and Clint a year before that. The animal was a wild untamable beast, who let few near him and no one but Mia on his back. Leo was the kind of animal that had to be shown respect before he would give it. And now, like the very few times before, he gave his consent and let a human close to him. Letting Steve release every stored up tear and cry and shuddering breath he'd been keeping locked up tight.


	42. Chapter 42

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so this story literally fucks up my mind every time I go to write it, it physically hurts to write this beast. But I will not stop until it’s over and finished.

42

The weeks roll on. Steve and his friends haven't found a lead on where Bucky or any of the others could be. Only subtle signs of where they might have been months ago. Always ten steps behind and around the corner, never getting any closer. 

He spends free time outside, beside the paddock of Mia’s horse. Finding solace In the large animals presence, finding peace where he thought it would be impossible. If only for an hour a day. Steve knows better than to try and ride the horse, but every now and then, Leo would come up and snuffle Steve's shoulder for a treat. It's the most the animal interacted with anyone lately. Instead staring out into the woods around them, waiting for something. 

The sound of tires crunching on the old gravel has Steve turning to glance at the long drive. He'd forgotten Tony was driving in, less conspicuous then a plane. With a soft pat to Leo's shoulder, Steve stood straight and walked back towards the drive and cabin. Meeting Clint and Sam outside as the car came to a slow stop. 

"God I forgot how much I hate driving long distance." Tony snarked as he got out of the car, fingers rubbing at a sore spot on his neck. Everyone gave a soft chuckle at that as the other doors opened. 

A flash of silver and blue and Pietro was standing by Clint making the man chuckle and give the young adult a quick hug. "Didn't expect you kids to come along." Clint went to ruffle Pietro's hair and the silver haired mutant was across the porch in a blink. "Too slow."

Steve have Tony a questioning look and the billionaire only shook his head first and went towards the cabin. "Wanda, the horse is out back." Tony spoke as he opened the door, the twins out of their sight as the adults went back inside. 

"Why'd you bring them Tony?" Steve leaned his shoulder into the door jam into the main room. Tony plopping down into an office chair where Fitz and Simmons had made their desk of gadgets. The young former shield agents upstairs for the moment. 

Tony sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face as he watched Steve. "When Barnes was at the school, he didn't feel safe. If he didn't feel safe with all those enhanced and mutants? I'm not leaving my kids there on their own." He looked worn, showing his age in the salt and pepper way his hair was colored now. 

"Who's that?" Natasha asked, peeking out the window at the brunnete girl standing by the fence. Thick black rimmed glasses set on her oval face and a determined expression as she looked at the black horse in front of her and the twins. 

"Hmmm? Oh her, that's Aileen, she's staying with the twins for awhile." Everyone gave Tony this sort of confused expression. 

"Look, the Professor suggested she stay with the twins, I'm not sure why, but I knew I wouldn't hear the end of it from Wanda." Tony throws his hands up, he hasn't heard the girl speak more then a few word since staying in the compound. 

"The professor? She's a student at the school?" Clint responded, watching as the girl moved her lips gently and Leo started to come closer. He started to stand, Leo was known to play nice and then bite people. He was still a huge animal and dangerous at the best of times.

"Yeah, no idea what her ability is though. Nothing's on fire or went missing so can't complain." Tony starts to fiddle with the gadgets on the table out of habit. Avoiding the looks he was getting. 

He knew taking in the girl would raise questions, but honestly he doesn’t really care. He'd found out lately he had a soft spot for teens and kids, like the twins. It took no effort or second guessing to make up a room and account for the shy girl. She wasn't any trouble and Wanda adored her, there was no other way to do it in Tony's eyes. 

Clint and Natasha watched out the window as the trio now make their way inside. Wanda giving Clint and Natasha their own hugs and introducing Aileen to everyone. The shy girl pushes her glasses up her nose and mumbles soft hellos. 

"Aileen would like to help." Wanda's voice suddenly cut through anyone trying to make conversation. All adult eyes looking toward Wanda and the girl with glasses. Pietro calm and still beside them. 

"How could you help us?" Sam asked, watching as the shy girl only shrugged and pointed out the window. Leo was standing at the edge of the fence closest to the cabin, ears perked, head and neck stiff and straight. Watching. 

"Aileen can speak to animals." Wanda says it so simply. As if that's not an impossible thing. But yet, in her world of enhanced and mutants, it may not be. 

"You can speak..." Sam's incredulous voice is cut off by Steve's. 

"You can understand him?" His wrist and finger points to the black stallion outside. And Aileen gives a solemn nod in answer. 

"He wants to find his mare." Aileen speaks and turns her face toward the window. 

Steve goes to ask her somthing but Wanda gives him this pointed look that spoke volumes. He shut his mouth and kept listening. 

"Something is coming, something bad and something that does not belong here." She tilts her head a bit, as if listening. "Mists and shadows..."

She turns and looks to Wanda. As if she needs encouragement to speak. "He worries she's lost her way. He can't sense her anymore."

"Okay, what the fuck is she saying?" Sam's voice rang out confused and a bit agitated. "Does anyone understand this gibberish??"

Wanda sighed softly and placed a comforting hand on Aileen’s arm where she had recoiled slightly from Sam's strong tone. "Animals... Attach themselves to the humans they choose. It is like splitting your soul, right?" She looks to Aileen and the girl nods. "Leonidas can't find her anymore, not even a simple direction to look toward. She's not dead, she's just... Disconnected." They’d never told any of these three the horse’s name. 

"So.. That mean bastard outside that constantly tries to bite me is connected spiritually to Mia?" Sam asks, tone accusing and disbelieving only for Wanda and Aileen to both give him a look that said, yes idiot. 

"Okay... Does.. Does he know the last .. Direction she was in?” Steve asks the bespectacled girl. Hope in his voice.

Aileen nods slightly. "Can I see a map please?."

 

\-------

 

Wade hated waiting. He could be a patient man, honestly he could when the situation called for it. But this was grating on his nerves and his heart. 

Four days and nothing from either Bucky or Mia. Four mother fucking days.

They'd all went to bed after pouring over maps and stolen Hydra records. Making their best form of action to take down the fuckers and find the fucker that did this to them all. They were worn and tired and bickering, but nothing had given Wade any indication that the pair would leave.... With Mia’s crossbows still on the weapons table. 

His fingers drum an unsteady beat onto the folding table beneath him. Each ping gently and softly into the abandoned warehouse they’d chosen to hole up in while they planned. Other hand holding his phone to his ear waiting for a pick up. 

Wade groans as he gets the voicemail of Mia’s burner cell yet again. He's getting worried, anxious. Scared. He's just now got her back. He can't lose her again. Not his baby sister. 

He tries Logan's cell. Maybe the older mutant would have an idea, an inkling to what might have happened to them. 

\--- four days and several hours previously 

Instincts are just that, instinctual. The hindbrain of the animal species a thing that cannot be explained in human terms but understood for thousands of beasts roaming about. Instincts were primal, pure and most importantly, never wrong. 

So when Mia woke to feeling like she was in a new place, her hindbrain woke into action before she had even realized she’d grabbed for her blade and it wasn't under her pillow. That same instinctual mind knew James was beside her, waking, reaching for a weapon no longer there and realizing they were not where they had fallen asleep. 

It was dark, the kind of dark where the moon beams try to burst forth from behind curtains. Light dim enough to not sting and bright enough to to allow vision of the surrounding area. 

This wasn't the mattress with blankets they'd been sleeping on the past days. The scent of stale water and rusted steel from the old factory was gone, replaced by a calming hint of lavender and somthing not quite discernible. It didn't feel huge and empty, it felt warm. Something wasn't right. 

They didn't care about their state of undress, in dire circumstances it never mattered. So barely covered they crept from the luxurious silky bedsheets to the unknown place around them. The strangeness of it all becoming clearer the more they become aware and awake. Like a dream receding as consciousness took control. The light changes to brighter vibrant rays of gold from between huge windowsills, edges covered in whisper thin curtains at least ten feet tall. 

Marbled floor the color of winter green warmed beneath every step and gave way to furs and rugs draped about. Blue met blue and the confusion rose as night somehow became day in a matter of moments yet felt like hours as they slowly studied the room around them. 

Instinct, they knew instinct. What was simple in mind years ago was now advanced and complicated, trained and packed down so tightly they knew never to question. So back to back they stood, waiting. 

And it was like they knew when to react, the curtains whispered when there was no breeze and out of nowhere a shimmering glaze of green and gold formed a man before them. 

She'd never seen him before in her life, not this close or in detail. Only snippets of shaky footage taken when the aliens attacked New York. The slick ebony hair. Defined features and tapered slim waist. And yet it wasn't the gold horned helmet that sat upon his head that gave him away. It was the eyes. Those deepest green of greens that spoke so much anguish and rage. 

"Loki.." Her voice was strained, the disuse of her vocal chords reacting to her sudden speech. James once again noticed that soft southern twang was gone from her, he missed it.

"Ah, so you’ve heard of me, good. That makes this a bit easier." Green met ice and storms and he nodded to James. The long horns of the helmet not even moving atop his head. "Barnes."

"That explains this place, your magic. I thought you weren't allowed to practice..." Bucky hadn't met the demi-god, only known of him through short meetings with Thor. Loki was supposed to be back on Asgard, not practicing magic. 

"My time is limited and we cannot waste, this is of the upmost importance." Suddenly his regalia was gone, replaced by what normal well dressed men would wear on earth. Lounge suit , green of course. 

He looked tired, the kind of exhaustion found when a man has been pushed to the edge and back too many times. Green eyes were glazed and faded, as if his life was near gone and only a sliver was left inside. 

"What do you want Loki, I doubt you want to help us so what's so wrong you needed to bring us... Wherever this is." James pointed about the room gently.

"I... I fear... I am afraid..." The man, the god of lies, slumped into a chair and held his head in his hands. Defeat slumping his shoulders with a weight no one would know. 

And something clicked in Mia’s hindbrain, that compulsion to do something and trust the consequences to be for the better. Without thinking she moved forward, she'd never met this man, never spoke to him or thought of him. But this wasn't who he was meant to be. This broken being before her was screaming for help without uttering a sound. And like an injured dog that was too scared to move, she gently moved forward and touched his shoulder. 

James went to grab her, fearful of what could happen, but it wasn't needed. The moment Mia touched Loki, something happened. It was like the god had finally taken a breath after so long underwater. Eyes shine up at the slip of a girl whose killed hundreds and saw kindness buried within her to tired mind and soul. A pride and loyalty there. 

And he could feel it, that immense flaming power inside of her. Calling out to be set free every second she holds it back from slipping into the world outside of her. That's what he came for, that power he hadn't seen in hundreds of years now. He needed it, needed her help, 

"I need your help, both of you." 

"Why?" James was skeptical, he was tired, and more than anything he wanted to sleep for two days and not have to worry about being shot at, trapped, taken or god forbid killed. 

"Something is coming, something dark and no one believes me in Asgard. With my mother dead... And my brother’s trust in me gone, I have no one but the walls to listen to me." 

James leans his hip onto the dark wooded posts of the bed they just vacated, still not caring he was only in boxer shorts and the gleam of his metal arm shone in the bright golden light. He watched Loki, how the man was a tall figure of power yet was slumped into a chair. That pride he was supposed to exude was gone from his lithe frame. 

He thinks about the few times he had spoken with or around Thor, how the blonde had spoken as if Loki was a lost cause yet kept him about because he was useful or like a pet. Brothers don't act like that, though with what Loki had done, he could understand Thor's resistance in letting Loki truly free again. 

Yet he was here, brought them to this figment place where no one could find them or listen in, to ask for help. James glanced at Mia, watching her brow furrow the slightest bit, the way her trigger finger itched like when she needed to do something. His girl that had had so much happen to her.... He knew what she wanted before she even formed the words.

"How could we help?" Mia’s at his side somehow without being asked as he spoke, her arms crossed to try to hide the twitch in her fingers, eyes dead set on Loki across from them. 

"You surpass any warrior I have ever seen... The wrongs done to you make you stronger, you cannot be killed..." 

Mia scoffs a bit at that, her anger about her speedy healing abilities was not lost on those near her. She hated it. Because Bucky still took weeks to heal from a barrage of bullets but Mia only took minutes.... She could even grow back limbs... She knew the weight of immortality was immeasurable from what Wade had explained to her weeks ago. Bucky didn't have that. 

"The power within you, it burns, doesn't it?" He speaks and Mia stills, hadn't noticed she had started to slowly pace about the lush room. Her eyes staring out into the golden light outside the window. She can just make out the skyline of a city. 

It did burn. It burned inside her like nothing she could imagine, it was possibly akin to being burned alive, but slowly, as if the temperature was just hot enough to scorch badly yet not enough to set aflame. Every inch of her body at all times of day and night. Even if she released a bit of it, let it out, it didn't help the burning. 

Remy called it 'the fire' and he was right. It felt sometimes like her little finger could set a forest ablaze. She worried if she was burning James before, once he had balked at her touch. He'd said it just felt, electrifying, maybe like he'd been touched by a very warm pan fresh from the oven. But that had been early on in her ability and now many months later he said it never happened again. She just felt warmer than she should, her skin. But Mia herself hadn't felt the change. 

"What do you know about it? Mutations?" She keeps Loki in her peripherals, focusing instead on the windows across the room from her. Like always she feels James movements more then sees him, senses him near her yet not close. A trained eye would notice the tactical advantage of their positions. Keeping themselves to one side of the room and Loki on the other. 

"They're not mutations, at least yours isn't." He stands and moves lithely across the room, to a tall bookshelf that wasn't there a moment ago, his fingers tracing over worn spines with care. 

"What do you mean?" She watches as he continues to look over the books carefully. Wondering what he's talking about. Hoping he might know... Why.

"My first time on earth was many centuries ago, in the time of Vikings and the nords. I was very young at the time, had not yet spilled my first blood, neither had Thor, and we were there as a sort of scouting party." He sits back down, heavy book in his hands. "Odin was curious of the smaller worlds about the Nine, the ones too insignificant or native to become their own or join other holds. The humans were brash and wild, yet were scared of their own shadows most nights. There was nothing to be afraid of, and Odin thought it would be a kindness to them, to release beasts from around the Nine..."

"I don't understand..."

"When he released those beasts, he released chaos into your world. And yes, most have died out or been killed off hundreds of years ago. But some of their lineage runs strong, like in you." Loki rose and handed her the now open worn book. The pages were yellowed with age and anyone could tell it was hand written with quill and ink. 

A flaming dragon was depicted in the pages, sprites or fairies danced about it and beneath its wide chest and giant wings stood men and women, fire frothing over their hands and eyes ablaze. Her brow furrowed and confusion was evident as Loki let her take the book in hand and James looked over her shoulder. 

"Priests, dragon priests, could inherit the soul of a dragon, thus giving them the power to wield flame, heal as a dragon does and a few more minor skills. Those 'dinosaurs' you humans find buried deep in the earth, those are dragons darling, and you have the soul of one."

"What..?" Her eyes are wide and Loki thinks, this could be the first time on a long time the girl has had any sort of real emotion besides rage and agony. Confusion runs rampant and she looks over her shoulder and up, into the face of James. Her protector, alpha. Because no matter how strong she becomes, she relies on him.

"But... My brother. He doesn't have this...this fire inside me."

"I wouldn't expect him to, the blood thins or thickens depending on the strength of integrity, loyalty, all things the beasts of old looked for in vessels. Your brother, was he in some sort of explosion of fire?" 

She thinks and remembers, flashes of flames and screams, the scent of burned flesh and pale eyes hidden by scars. The monster of a father they had that set Wade's face aflame simply from being late from school. The same one who liked to use her skin as an ashtray. 

"Ah," he can see the answer in her face, the anger placed there. 

"I heal like him though, but he can regrow limbs, haven't had the chance to test that yet." She chuckles darkly and James is behind her, hand in the nape of her hair and giving a little squeeze, a gentle reminder of his presence. 

"Healing is a dragon specialty, it's what made the beasts so hard to kill. Without guns or plasma rifles, even a master archer couldn't find where the heart was, and that's how you kill a dragon."

"You destroy the heart?" That sounded incredibly simple yet complicated. This entire situation feeling like a smoky dream the way Loki came from nowhere. 

"Yes, but where does a dragon keep its heart?" Loki smirked and came forward again, turning the pages of the book in Mia’s hands, tapping the new page. 

Her eyes scrutinized as James’ brow furrowed. The words on the page made no sense the way they were worded, the phrases more like rhymes than actual sentences. 

' A dragon, once reaching the age of maturity, will find a vessel to hide its’ heart inside. A dragon’s heart contains it's soul and in so, the vessel must be strong enough to withhold the power the heart will give them. ... If the dragon is destroyed and the vessel still lives, the heart becomes one with the vessel. Assuming the vessel lives to pass on it’s seed, the heart will travel through the generations and come forth through the ones that are strong enough to wield the power given. ..."

“Remy..." Her head whips up and she locks eyes with Loki. "He's so much more powerful than I am."

"Another one? Interesting, the same ability I'm assuming?"

"He doesn't heal rapidly."

"He was given what he needed."

"What does that even mean?!" Her frustration was growing, that ever present stoic calm mask slipping from her features. 

"You were all given what was needed to survive. Tell me, did this ability come forth when you were in extreme danger or shock?" Her sudden blank stare, right hand ghosting over her lower abdomen. Loki was hit with a sorrow he knew first hand, she had been pregnant at the time. "I am sorry, my condolences." His head bows for a moment, a ghost of a memory long since tried to be forgotten .

"So I have the soul , heart, whatever, of a dragon inside me, and that's why some of us have these weird powers.... "

"Some yes, not all. Your soldier here, like Rogers and a few others in the past, have a man made form. It's weaker, more than likely kills the host as well. You call them enhanced. Others, they were simply made the way they are, the rest are descendants of other beasts. Though I doubt very many are true to their linage anymore." Loki gently took the book from her hands, placing it back upon the shelf moments before it vanished in a wisp of gold and green smoke. 

"Now, why I brought you here was not to explain your lineage or your abilities, I ask for assistance." His face looked haunted for a moment, it was gone and schooled back like usual, but they all saw it. 

"If you brought us here, it must be important." James tugged Mia into his side, forgoing their stoic personas for the moment. She had been reminded of her grief and needed him to steady her emotions lest she explode the room around them. 

"I sense, a darkness. I don’t t know who, and I don't know what we may be up against... But I assure you, the entire planet needs you." His words settled deep, his voice strong and somber and his face have no indication of deceit. Yet this was Loki, God of lies, he could be pulling them along. But what if he wasn't? 

“Then why not ask the avengers, Rogers and Stark?" Loki shakes his head at Mia and looks at them with something akin to a glimmer of hope. 

"They won't be enough, you're the only ones strong enough...."


	43. Chapter 43

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I edit this myself on mobile, any mistakes are my own. Sorry!

43

Loki hadn’t spoken anymore of what was coming, as if he himself had no idea. Just a premonition, a gut wrenching feeling something was wrong and barreling towards all of them. With Odin’s sickness worsening, earth calm from the last major attack, the duo of super soldiers had no clue what was coming their way. 

They did however know what they could do, take down Schmidt. They would not let the fucker live any longer. Wouldn’t allow his work to ever be continued. Mia most of all wanted to drive screws under his nails, right into the bone. To shove an arrow so deep into his groin she severed his Jonny long boy off, maybe shove it down his throat. Suffice to say, the man would not die slowly or easily. 

Now they had more help, Loki assures them he’d do what he could from his position in Asgard. They knew better then to listen to promises from a Demi god , but they had nothing to lose. 

Loki watches her as they explore the room further he’d conjured them, the graceful predatory way she walked without being overly “cat like.” She was still dressed in hardly nothing and while he did in fact enjoy the view, her tattoos intrigued him immensely, the soldier was not keen on Loki’s lingering looks. 

A soft whisper of silk against her thighs and arms and Mia glances down, finding a silky robe of black and magenta over her body. Covering clear down to her knees without clinging to her form. Magic was something she hadn’t quite comprehended yet but really it was growing rather quickly. She had the heart of a dragon and could blow shit up with a touch. Magic was entirely plausible. 

“Is there anything you require before I send you back?” What a loaded question. There’s so much they wanted, so much that they desperately needed to ease their souls. But nothing could be done about what they had lost.

Mia let her mind go blank, hoping something big would come to the forefront and give her an inkling to what she could have that was possible. And do you know what popped up in her minds eye? Leo, her prized horse. She missed the companionship of the animal as much as having something to watch out for and take care of. 

She missed the him. A bond that was unbreakable between them was still felt. She wondered if Clint and Natasha kept the animal safe, or, her heart clenched a bit, if Leo was even still alive after the attack to her farm. There had been so many agents, thousands of bullets and the smell of smoke everywhere. 

James came to her side, metal palm slipping over the small of her back, his lips to her hair. He knew, like he always did, when she needed to calm her racing mind or ease her aching heart. His touch was a wonder to her body and she melted into him, sometimes forgetting she was in fact a woman who was hurting beyond what she should be capable of. 

“Leonidas...” and James knew what she wanted just by the muttering of the animals name. How they could make it happen he’s not sure, maybe just a glimpse to ease her heartache. He knew how much the black horse meant to Mia. How they’d take the animal along was something else entirely. 

“So there is something?” Loki was suddenly there, instead of on one side of the room he was across from them, leaning his shoulder against the window frame as the sunlight poured inside. 

“I suppose, but it’s unconventional and isn’t rational.” Mia muttered as she walked from James arms, instead going to the windows and watching outside. Mountains of blue and green with trees dancing like ocean waves over the horizon. It was beautiful here. 

“Perhaps, but anything is possible with the correct amount of magic.” 

“It’s kind of stupid but..” she takes a soft breath and shrugs. “What the hell, my horse Leo, I want to know if he’s alive. I know I can’t keep him with us if he is, but I’d like to know if he’s taken care of.” It was a stretch, a stupid idea. But there’s a niggling in the back of her mind , telling her to look. To see.

Loki looked over and down into the petite woman a meter away from him. The wind blowing her golden tresses about, not hindered or caring of the tangles in the locks. The way she stands strong and resolute, feet shoulder width apart , ready to strike or duck. 

But he’s looking at what’s underneath, the soul within. Someone of his highly advanced magic and skill could easily peak into her aura. Could see the meshing of so much emotion destroying her inside and out, that’s to be expected from what he knows of the woman. He’s looking for something else, a rope, a ribbon, a single thread. And wouldn’t you know it, there it is. A thin strip of spirit, a part of her connected to something else other than the soldier beside her. 

It’s a connection that cannot be broken, one he has witnessed being forged and has himself tied to his own being, multiple times. Different from that of a soul mate, a partner no more perfect than could be created for each other, no it’s a different kind. He shares a similar one with his own steed, though he hadn’t felt the pull from the beast in some time. The cord was there all the same. 

“Hmm,I do not think it too far fetched.” He watched with a stoic face as hers lit up and she turned to him. A bond indeed. 

He wouldn’t tell her yet about the bond or the power within that he could see quite clearly. But he’d do what he could to get them to trust him, to rely on him, he needed their help. 

“You could do that?”

“I can show you where the beast is, if that’s what you wish.” He waited a moment before continuing. “However, the Captain watches over the animal, along with your other affiliates.” 

The moments passed in silent frozen space as her eyes widened that fractional bit. She hadn’t, had tried not, to think about her family. Clint and Natasha, the ones who’d raised her. If she stayed away, she’d keep them safe. Though, it seemed it didn’t much make any difference. They’d faced aliens and robots, but could they face her? Discovering what she was? What she could do...

She turned and looked up, gazes syncing together as James glanced back down at her. He was warring with himself, he tried before. To stay away and keep his friends safe, he tried staying with them, both got the same outcome. Danger. 

“Should we?” And he finally nodded to her question. It was time. They’d run long enough, from everything. 

“Let’s pick up my brother if we can, then take us to them, please.” She turned to Loki, her manners, years of teaching from Natasha and Clint both, came through and he may not have known it, but it’s the first time she’s used them in awhile. 

The prince nodded, with a soft wave of his hand, a swirling mix of gold and green. The room vanished quickly like a flicker of butterflies wings before your eyes and suddenly, she and James stood before wade. Her brothers mouth wide open and scarred face showing absolute shock as he stared at their sudden appearance. Logan and Maria stood behind him with Remy, surprise written everywhere. The only sign they’d been with Loki, the robe around her shoulders. 

Blinking, her and James turned to find nothing of the sunlight filled bedroom they’d been in, not the marbled floor or the prince who’d brought them there. Just the weapons tables made from plywood and chairs, the musty mattress Wade had been snoozing on, and the dripping of a distant broken water pipe. 

Before them the foursome of mutants were waiting for some sort of explanation, to anything that had happened. The couple across from them had been missing for several days. No trace and no contact, then to just suddenly appear in tendrils of green gold smoke. Half dressed and looking fresher then they had in weeks, months. 

“Okay...... Da-Fuck just happened?!?!” Wades voice cut through the silence. And wouldn’t you know it, the most heavenly sound came from Mia’s lips as she giggled, a true honest to god girlish giggle came from her mouth that soon turned into a stomach curling laugh as tension released from her body. 

James stared with slack jawed wonder at the woman he loved and he felt something mend inside him. She was smiling. Standing there, her hand on his metal arm, grip tight and she wheezed and wiped at her eyes with her other hand. A wide grin on her face.

She was smiling.

-/-/-/-/-

Once she calmed and noticed finally that in fact Remy, Logan and Marie were standing beside her brother, Mia quieted. Her face schooled itself back to its normal stoic features, yet James could see the slightest change in it. A softer shade of her. He missed it. 

She stood by him, his metal fingers against her lower back, pressing gently, keeping her steady. Keeping him steady, like she always did. Their eyes take in the group before them and soon words flowed and explanations were made. It wasn’t hard for them to believe where they’d been or who had done it, just the ‘why’ was bothering them. 

“You don’t know what you’re up against? And you still agreed? Little sis, that’s pretty fuckin stupid don’t you think?” Wade sat cross legged on a folding chair, katana flipping in his hands easily as he talked. 

“The man was desperate.” James sat in his own chair, leant back and thick legs spread wide as Mia leaned against his shoulder. Her fingers at the nape of his neck and tangled in his dark hair. “He wouldn’t’ve brought us to that place if he didn’t need the help, he was almost beggin’” 

“A man like that doesn’t need help unless he’s desperate, and a desperate man is a dangerous thing to not have on your side.” Mia finishes for him, the others hadn’t seen the look of desperation and anxiety on Loki’s face. 

Logan had been stoically quiet since their appearance, watching the two of them speak with a hunters gaze that held little animosity and more curiosity. James watched him with an almost unblinking gaze the entire time. He didn’t like this man, he didn’t trust this man as far as he could throw him, well... James could probably throw him pretty far. But still. This man had most likely been followed by Rumlow, had found them somehow in the wilds of Canada, and had metal claws that come from his arms. 

“Why are you here?” His words cut off whatever cuss filled rant Wade was rolling out, everyone’s attention now on the two mutants across the room. 

“Want to help kid.” His gruff voice sounded like that small statement should be enough, it wasn’t. 

“Why?” And it was so eerie, the way Mia’s voice melded with James’ when they spoke in unison without a thought to do so. The way James sat up, leaned a flesh elbow on his knee, the other arm slipping around Mia’s waist for a gleaming metal hand to splay over her hip, still dressed in the silk robe. 

Logan looked at this couple. These assassins, trained soldiers. Weapons. The way James’ dark hair framed his cheeks, making his eyes seem darker, his body a solid brick and cement wall that curled around her smaller frame in protection, in support. The way he always faces towards the exits, kept a blade or gun on him at all times, constantly looking up to track wherever she was when not plastered to his hip. 

He’s seen, in short moments, the inhuman way he moved and how fast he reacted to whatever came at him, be it weapon or fist. And that darkness that surrounds them both, evened out by the light that’s still seeping from her soul. Keeping them half in shadow, protecting them in either surrounding. The hardness in their eyes, that ice still present. 

Then his eyes narrowed, watched closely. Her eyes, they were darker. No longer the color of steeled metal, but a deep sky blue. The color of the last blues before night set in, an almost lavender tinge to the iris. His gaze flickered to the Cajun and he only got a nod in answer to a silent question. They were the same, the Cajun and the soldier. 

“We know what it’s like, to lose everthin’ and ain’t no one got your back. We’ve fought wars the world don’t even know ‘bout, lost friends and family.” Marie stood boldly and came forward some, not anywhere close to the couple but enough that James visibly tensed. 

“Honey, we’re here to help, ta stand by you.” Her voice held conviction, promise and loyalty. Something the soldiers didn’t take easy. 

“Remy.” The Cajun looked up from lighting his cigarette with a flicker of power from his fingertips, something Mia hadn’t quite mastered. Looked up to James’ face who hadn’t left Logan’s blank face. 

Mia smoothly walked from James’ arm and walked to meet the Cajun, a man she did trust. Crossing her arms and locking gazes with the demon orbs she’d grown to know. “You know them, you’ve fought with them. What do you think.” 

And Remy looked to Logan and Marie. It was true, he had fought beside them for many years. But the years hadn’t been good to the friendship they all shared. The X-men had done that, the years of inside fighting and arguing over values and morals until he had left and never looked back. 

“Ah, they offer ‘Dey help, you take it ‘Ames. Logan, he good to have with the claws.” He smirked a bit, raised an eyebrow to Mia as she nodded. 

“Then get ready, we’re going to meet Rogers.” She went back to stand at Bucky’s side as he stood, his metal limb again encircling her side and there had to be some symbolism in that. 

“We’re taking down Hydra?” Wade speaks up finally, standing as he watched his baby sister so... predator like in her grin. 

“Every last one. But first, we meet Rogers and make a plan. Then when it’s over and if we’re still alive, we help Loki.” Before he’s even finished speaking, a whisper sound alerted them to Loki now standing in front of James and Mia. 

In all his regalia, Loki was fairly impressive. The gleaming gold of his horned helmet making him a giant to the others. Yet he seemed to not fill it out like he was a peacock, showing off feathers and colors. No, he was ready for battle, eyes wary and waiting. 

“I must say, you’ve quite the knack for finding the rare things in life Mia.” Loki’s voice was something the mutants had only heard from one other through the years. A regal countable and timber to match the poise.

“I see an animal in human form, a man who cheats death every moment he breaths. Ah, a soul stealer...” he turns his head, catching Marie, her hand slowly tightening into a fist by her side. “Rare indeed.” 

“And a man. With fire in his veins and molten heat in his soul.” Remy stood straighter, his eyebrow raised over a soulless eye at the god before him. 

“Are you ready then?” And just like that his smile is back and he’s facing the couple, ignoring all the others gathered around as if they did not count yet he would know instantly if they moved from their places. 

With a nod Mia moved to the corner of the large room, not caring of any eyes on her as she and bucky both simply rugged on jeans and pushed feet into pre laced boots. And that was it, just picking up a crossbow to shoulder and a trusted magnum that Bucky always seemed to find after every fight. 

James introduced Loki to the others by name and vice versa, mutters greetings came forward but that wa sit. None of them felt comfortable with the god near them. His mere presence setting them on edge, yet Mia and Bucky showed no evidence of it, in fact acting calm. 

Wade went to his sister, tucked her chin up with his hand and looked deep, deep into her dark blue eyes. He knew it would hurt, seeing Romanov and Barton after all that had happened. He knew this was going to either cause strife and ruin any real relationships , or this could strengthen the bond they shared. He himself wanted to beat the arrow shooter to a pulp, but only if Mia let him. 

Her hand reached up and gripped his own in tight strength of her serum filled body and she nodded once. Enough of an answer to him, he would follow. Her and Barnes were running this show, he’d follow where she went. 

James nodded to Loki and the god waved his hands, a gesture of invisible symbols, smoke swirling around them like golden wisps and sprites dancing in the air. Then a soft whooshing sound, cold air surrounding them. Snow deep underfoot and a cabin yards away with lit up windows glowing warm from a fireplace inside.


	44. Chapter 44

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally, after all that work, all the pain and heartache, to ever find them. Always five steps back and blindfolded, never really close at all. They just, pop out of nowhere.

44

It was quiet. Empty pizza boxes piled on the dining table. Cups in the sink, paper plates folded and tossed into the trash. Lunch was over and everyone in the cabin was doing what they did all day long. They looked. 

Fits and Gemma scoured the internet. Sam and Steve looked over maps and possible ways of travel. Natasha and Clint using every last favor they could to find out anything. Tony was half asleep at a table working on designs for a security system. The gleam of a silver black disk propped up against the wall beside him. 

Meanwhile, Wanda and Pietro were busy trying to get Aileen to leave the barn. The brunette teen refused to leave the horse alone, but her fingers were frozen and her cheeks pale. She’d been out there all morning trying to console the animal. 

Leonidas was frantic, running back and forth in the small paddock. Pacing and pawing, digging up clumps of dirt to mix and spray over the white of the snow. Refusing to let anyone near him to push him back into a stall. 

Aileen kept saying, “Return, return.” Of course no one knew what that meant and Wanda couldn’t get into Aileen’s head to even decipher what visions the animal was sending to the beastial empath. It was causing enough of a worry that she was to ask her twin to fetch Tony. 

Suddenly the horse went still, its chest rising and falling in rapid breaths and as Wanda blinked, he was sailing over the fence like it was nothing but a twig. 

“Tony! Steve!” Her voice screamed out, she and Pietro gave chase to the animal that was pushing through the deep snow toward the front of the cabin. Their feet getting caught in the high drifts and even Pietro had trouble speeding out of them. 

Leo was out of sight when Steve came running out the back door, gun in hand and witnessed its flowing tail vanish to the front of the house. Feet slipping on the ice on the roundabout porch, he pushed himself to to the front door and stopped. 

In the ice and snow pushed into mounds by the gravel drive. Leo stood nuzzling a petite woman with golden hair, a gleaming metal hand on the animals neck. Dark hair and blue eyes he’d know anywhere.

“Buck?” Save for the snuggling of the horse’s breathing and boots shuffled onto packed snow, all was quiet. 

James turned his head from the sight of Mia clinging to the neck of her horse, towards Steve’s shocked bearded face. It felt like a million years since he’d seen Steve’s face. The frozen expression matched Sams. Shock.

He didn’t answer his friend, instead moved to pat Mia’s shoulder and turn her away from her reunion with Leo. To the face of Clint and Natasha, clinging to the wooden railing of the porch, disbelief on their faces. 

“Mia?” Clint was the first to move, ignoring all the new faces, everything in his movements zeroed in on Mia’s form standing there. Staring blankly at him.   
He stopped feet from her, hands shaking and tears in his eyes but before he could reach for her, hold her. All he sees is snow as he’s punched to the ground. 

“We’re gonna have a nice fucking chat first Barton.” Wade stood above Clint and hauled him out of the snow. Many of the others went to intervene but found themselves frozen by James’ icy glare. James did agree with Wade to a small extent, but this needed to happen. 

“Wade...” Clint growled and kicked out, finding the move to dislocate Wade’s knee only made him wobble on the other leg for a second as a sickening pop sounding and the knee is repaired. 

“You made me mother fucking a promise assmouth.” Wade seethed and threw another punch, throwing Clint to the snow again but letting the man stand and form a defensive pose now. 

“I kept my promise... she was safe.” Clint growled and readied for an attack, as Wade threw himself into it, the ones who knew Wade knew the mutant was holding back immensely. Otherwise, Clint would already be maimed or dead. 

Wade threw another kick and had Clint to the ground, the edge of a razor sharp katana against the spy’s chest. “Does she fucking look safe to you Clint?” Wades voice was low and more of a snarl then anything. Standing there in his red and black spandex suit towering over Hawkeye. “Does she look fuckin’ happy? Huh? You let her get like that, Barton.”

Clint glanced toward where she stood and paused, saw in his eyes what Wade meant. Mia stood there, looking at him with a heavily guarded face. A stoic expression that gave nothing away, both her hands at her sides, ready to grab at the blades tucked against her hips or the crossbow at her back. She looked hurt, strong and hurt and lost. A shell.

But it’s her eyes. He barely recognized them. The deep blue, the shadows under them, the absolute pain behind her gaze. Clint’s breathing slowed and he kept looking at her. She was broken, he could see that. And it was his fault. “Mia?” She didn’t let him respond.

“Brother, that’s enough.” Wade stood, sheathing his katana and standing. Clint climbed out of the snow, his clothes were soaked and his toes were numb since his boots had went flying somewhere in the scuffle. But he just stared at her.

Mia patted the horse’s neck once more and then walked to Clint. She wasn’t any taller, but she carried herself in a way that made her a giant, a force. A storm. He could see it, deep in her gaze. Something had happened, something beyond Hydra and having the serum he could see she had been forced to take. Something more then being made a weapon.

“I’m sorry.” She shakes her head and gives him what could be considered a winter soldier smile. A tiny upturn of the corner of her lips. But no real emotion was there.

“It’s good to see you.” And he cringes, her voice isn’t soft spoken or boisterous. It’s hard, clear. All of her little accent gone. All of her was missing. The body was there, but her spirit was gone.

Clint goes to hug her but she sidesteps back, his arms half hang at his sides before they fall and his head lowers. Guilt evident on his face, shoulders slumping. She doesn’t hug him, but her hand does touch his shoulder and then his cheek. A tiny whisper of touch. Their eyes meet and he sees so much loss he wants to look away. “Not your fault.” Her voice is low and then it’s gone, like her touch to his cheek as she turns to look at the people around her. 

James and Steve were a yard apart. Wind whipping James dark hair about his jaw and shoulders. There’s this haunted look in James eyes that Steve has never seen before, it’s darker, deeper then the first time he rescued Bucky. And this time, there’s no joke to ease the tension, no attempt to make a quip. 

As the super soldiers faced the other, Mia looked over to the red head slowly stepping down the steps. The others were moving a bit, getting better looks, but Mia and James both had been aware of every single one of them. Natasha stopped on the last step, her hair was much longer than it’s been in years, tangled and losing some of its vibrant red color in her long term stress. 

The look Mia gave Natasha made the spy freeze in her movements. A deep cold spike ran up her spine at Mia’s face. It was like, the young woman could see into her very soul, every move she could make, calculated and ready to counteract. The steel replaced by a vibrant deep blue ringed in iridescent lavender. If looks could kill, Natasha would be flayed alive by a passing glance of that gaze. 

She curled in on herself, her failures more present now then ever before in the years they’d spent looking for this girl. Her little wolf, a term of endearment when Mia was little. To make her feel strong and be strong. Now it held the weight and power behind the nickname. She was a wolf, an alpha that took blood and didn’t even pass a glance at anything else. 

Vengeance ruled Mia’s soul, and Natasha felt as if every once of it was directed at her own body. Her grief took over and Natasha slid down to sit on the step, a hand curling around the icy wooden post that held the railing, the other covering her mouth to stifle silent sobs. And she wept silently at the death of the little girl she’d been so desperately trying to save. 

There was nothing left but the shell. 

“Bucky...you’re here... how?” Steve speaks softly, with surprise and a crack of emotion in his voice. 

He could see Bucky close his eyes and sigh through his nose, his gaze returned and Steve felt that icy spike force it’s way into his own spine. This wasn’t Bucky.... but it wasn’t the winter soldier either. 

“Mia, show them. So we can go inside, out of this weather.” James turned from Steve and went to meet Mia by Leo who had been patiently waiting by Remy, Logan and Rogue. 

“Steve, go up on the porch.” It was the first thing James had spoken to him and Steve numbly nodded. Moving to the porch while gently taking Clint’s elbow and moving him. There’s was too much emotion and shock for anyone to question what was going on. 

Mia met James, his metal palm against her cheek soothingly. A lovers caress, the only hint of emotion either of them had shared so far here, and it was with each other. He kissed her lips gently and then turned to walk away, his fist gently tugging on the horses mane to pull him out of the way. And Leo went without a second thought, happily trotting beside the metal armed soldier and then swinging around to watch with all the humans gathered around. Ears perked, neck raised and straight, ready, watching. Erie how human like the animal was behaving. 

Mia stood in the snow and a dark purple glow emanated from her eyes, heat pushed back even from thirty feet away. Snow melted around her as she curled her arm back, acting as if she was going to throw a ball. A mass of purple energy shot from her hand and hit the tree line maybe a hundred feet away. The explosion shocked everyone to crouch and cover their heads as burnt bark and pieces of charred tree fell around her. 

Her voice rang out sharp and clear before anyone could say anything. “Rumlow followed us into hiding, opened fire and I took the brunt of it.” That was a half truth, a half lie. “This is what awoke in me that day.”

There was more to it, so fucking much more. But as the remnants of the trees fell to the ground, sizzling on the snow banks, she walked forward. Her eyes still blazing with a purple fire and stood in front of them all. Remy came up to her side, seeing the disbelief on faces he did not know. He showed his own fire, let it free of its reigns. Showing she wasn’t alone in her damnable gift. Wasn’t alone at all. 

Then the both of them as one winked out their power, the heat dissipated from around them. Circles around their feet were clear of snow and showed the muddy brown grass underfoot. All was quiet but the sound of hooves in snow, Leo coming up behind Mia and nosing her shoulder, her hand came up to pet the animals wide cheek but her stare was blank of emotion as she watched the large group on the porch. 

“Lets... go inside.” Steve spoke, his voice unsure and wavering but it got everyone moving back into the warmth of the cabin. Clint took Natasha’s elbow and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her through the door when she was frozen, staring at Mia from the step she had crumpled on. 

Mia waited, James at her back and they nodded to Remy and the others to go inside first. She looked up at James and then to her horse, her arms coming up to encircle its thick neck and his foreleg came up, gently curling around her thigh in a sort of hug as his heavy head laid against her shoulder blades. 

A deep feeling of sorrow flowed into her quickly replaced by joy and she gasped. Held still by Leo’s hold and her grip tightened as she continued to hold him. In a moment it was gone and Leo lifted his leg from her thigh to gently paw at the ground before him. His nose snorting out a greeting like he used to do while in his stall. 

“Rare indeed.” Loki was standing there, watching the connection between woman and beast and smirked. Rare, Rare indeed. He saw the resemblance clearly, and wondered when his steed had time or chance to come to Midgard and reproduce, furthering it’s bloodline without the consent of its master. He would speak of it later, now all the humans needed to reacquaint and further their plan to destroy their own demons. He’d need all of them.

“I must return, I have been gone too long.” Loki held out his hand and James reached out to take the charm. It was a deep green eye shape, gold and green in swirling colors across it. “If you need me, break it under foot. I will come as fast as I am able.” He didn’t wait for a reply, simply vanished from sight. 

Mia walked the animal back to its corral. She saw the tracks where he’d landed on this side of the fence and a smile wanted to grace her lips. “Go on, you got out, go back in.” Leo snorted at her, gathered himself up and took off at a gallop, leaping over the fence and landing with a splash of snow on the other side. He turned and snorted, pawed at the ground then trotted back inside where it was warm. 

James hand was slowly sinking into the nape of her neck, fingers grabbing at hair and then his lips are crashing onto hers hungry and angry and wanting. Nipping at her lip they stop and take a breath, it’s getting so much easier, at least to each other, to express emotions. He’s constantly wanting her near him, against him, touching her skin. And she doesn’t deny him, how could she.

“I’m not looking forward to talking with Punk.” They were making their way to the house, boots crunching on ice on the wood planks of the porch. 

“We’ll get through this.” She squeezed his arm, the metal of his bicep unforgiving but he felt it all the same. They headed inside.


	45. Chapter 45

45

There were too many people gathered in the living room of the cabin. On one side stood what was left of the Avengers. Steve, Clint, Natasha, Sam, Tony. Tony’s adoptive enhanced teenagers Wanda and Pietro, their mutant friend Aileen. And Coulsons favorite techies, Fitz and Gemma. 

While on the other side stood people they hadn’t met mixed with people they had  
been searching too long to find. Steve didnt know these other people, yet they stood at Bucky’s back like fellow soldiers, almost friends, and his heart cracks. All this time, Bucky’s been of sound mind, could have come to him... 

“Well this is awkward as fuck. Like a nun giving head to a priest in the middle of his sermon.” Wade snickered, trying to ease the tension in the room. 

“I guess I should introduce everyone.” James was standing with Mia at his side, her arm reached to his back and a finger hooked into the back rung of his belt loops. She was as relaxed as any of the others had seen her since their appearance. 

“Steve, this is Logan, Rogue.” Logan nodded, taking Steve’s offered hand and shook it. Rogue smiling that megawatt smile she seemed to always pull out. 

James nodded to Remy, the red brunette at Mia’s other side, the one with the same eerie powers as Mia. “Gambit, he sheltered us...” James was going to say more but his throat closed up and his metal handed grip on Mia’s hip tightened. 

“I’m Wade, Wade Wilson. Deadpool, merc with a mouth.” Deadpool smiled and introduced himself. “Oh and I’m Mia’s brother.” He gave Clint a narrowed gaze but otherwise kept himself as calm as could be. 

“I’m Steve, Rogers. That’s Sam, Tony Stark, Clint, Natasha, Wanda, her twin ...

 

“Mrs Howlette?” Wanda asked and Rogue only smiled. 

“Hey dumplin’, speedy.” She smirked as Pietro came to give her a quick hug. 

“How do you two know her?” Steve asked and Tony looked with narrowed eyes at the two of them. The billionaire recognized their faces, if maybe only in passing, you cant really forget that white stripe of hair. He’d spoke with these two in Xavier’s office. 

“Ah’m one of the defense teachers at Caviers school, Logan teaches the older kids.” Rogue tilted her head and winked at Aileen. “Hey sugah, how you doin’?” Aileen smiled back timidly and that was enough of an answer for Rogue. 

“You’re the one teaching Pietro that fly kick? Aren’t you?” Logan gave away a smile smirk, just a little upturn of his lips and a little shoulder roll as a shrug. 

Several moments passed as everyone took on the newcomers. Studying faces and movements, tracking twitching fingers and lingering gazes. Mia looked to the people straight across from her, Fitz and Gemma. She’d know them anywhere because of how Skye had described them so many times. They needed to know, deserved to know. 

“She’s alright.” Gemma’s head snapped up and locked with Mia’s cold gaze, and flinched away. Mia closed her eyes and tried to pull back the ice in her form, it was so hard, ice was all she knew anymore. Ice and fire. But she started again and tried to give some comfort in her voice. 

“Skye, and Ward. They’re fine. Holed up somewhere and safe.” Gemma eyes filled with tears and she tore away from Fitz to throw herself at Mia. 

The blonde froze for a moment, the sudden hug from Gemma catching her so off guard she started to reach for her knife. But wetness hit her neck, tears, Gemma was crying into her neck and the woman just... melted. Wrapped her arms around the other, realizing they were nearly the same age. Broken in different ways. Too young for these hardships.

Fitz came forward and gently pried Gemma from Mia. Her lips kept murmuring ‘thank you’ and Mia nodded. Gemma choked on another sob and grasped Mia’s shoulder. “Later, I’ll give you a number to contact her, she misses you.” Gemma nearly broke down again and as Fitz led her away, he turned to look at Mia and James and said the same thing. Thank you. 

Fitz led Gemma away and into another room leading silence to once again fill the room of adults. “Ah think, anyone under thirty should leave the room now?” Logan nodded, agreeing with Rogue, and pointed to Pietro, Wanda and Aileen. 

“Go on kids, this stuff you don’t need to hear.” Tony watched slack jawed as the three simply nodded and walked out of the room, no fuss or argument. He had to fight tooth and nail to get those kids to listen when it was important. He didn’t have their full respect, not like Rogue and Logan had it as being their teachers. It’s a different thing. 

James started to slowly pace the floor, back and forth a few times before he stopped in front of Steve, reached out and clasped at his friends shoulder. His eyes were so dark, there was so much hurt that Steve’s own gaze started to water with tears. 

“I know you looked for us, I know Steve. I... we... couldn’t let you find us. Steve, I’m not... I’m not Bucky anymore. He died when he watched her... watched her get hurt...” Mia looked to the side, eyes betraying her demeanor as they grew pink rimmed with emotion. A heat glimmering around her skin. 

Steve hung his head low and mirrored James hand, sighing a shuddering breath and nodding as his other hand wiped at a stray tear. “Okay... Okay.” James nodded and finally, reached out and hugged Steve like he had wanted to an hour ago. Their super strength to the max as they pulled the other close and held on like long lost brothers. 

As they broke apart Steve chuckled and cleared his throat. “Jerk.”

“Punk.” James leaned back. “Beard looks good, goin for a lumberjack theme.” Steve choked on a laugh and punched James lightly in the arm. 

Mia started to come up to Clint and Natasha, arms wound around her middle but she couldn’t do it. She wanted to apologize, to say something anything. But she just turned back and went to Remy, Wade’s hand on her back to soothe her. 

“How.. how did you escape? Break the programming? How did...” Steve was cut off by James lifting a hand. 

“Whoa, slow down. Well explain everything, just give us a minute.” Her. Give her a minute. Because Steve watched as James went over to Mia. Her eyes blinking back unshed tears, a lavender glow about her gaze before she nods and takes a breath, the color receding. Her hand is clutched to her abdomen, nails almost sinking into her shirt. 

James gently pried her hand away from her stomach and kissed it before tugging her into a firm hug against his chest. Clint and Natasha locked eyes and furrowed brows matched. 

“Start at the beginning..” Steve offered James and Mia the small loveseat by the fire and within moments all the adults were sitting somewhere in the room. Stories needed to be explained and instances had to be told in the right order. 

“Once the drug wore off... they forced what was left of the serum into me and Ward...” Mia started off, leaving out tiny details like the guards continuous attempts at raping her throughout her training. But telling in minute detail how they’d drilled her for months on bows and rifles. 

Then how she remembered the brainwashing, the programming chair. Her hands shook with anger and for a moment her gaze was bright purple, heat surrounded her before it vanished and she was calm again. 

“The programming... how’d you bust out of it?” Clint spoke, sitting on a backwards chair, his arms crossed over the back of it. 

“I.... I’m not sure. One minute I’m the Winter Soldier and then, the next second everything comes back. It wasn’t like the first time, pieces and fragments. It was all at once and I was in the middle of a mission, I couldn’t let it show.” James scrubbed a hand over his face and sighs through his nose. 

“Mia? How’d you break it?” Natasha wanted to know as Mia scoffed softly under her breath. Her movements quick as she stood and faced the fire, arms crossed and hips jutted out just slightly to the side.

“James broke it weeks before I did, I think. When I was that person...” she takes a breath. “When I was Conquest, I noticed he was more alert to my movements, and when I was called off for a solo mission... “ 

“You don’t have to tell them.” James voice was at her ear and she shook her head. 

“No, they need to know what happened.” She turned her head over her shoulder, eyes slowly tinting more lavender then dark blue. 

“Rumlow used a fake op to separate me from James, he secluded himself with me somewhere in Russia and for six days, for six days Rumlow raped me.” Her voice turned harsher. “Over and over again.” She couldn’t fight back at the time, her every trained instinct was to follow orders and Rumlow was essentially her handler. She could not, would not, say no to him. Mindless or not, he’d still violated her. Ripped her up inside so badly it had taken a toll on her healing. 

“My god...” Natasha went off softly in Russian hate filled curses and Mia smirked behind her hair because she could finally understand her surrogate mother figure. 

“When he brought me back James whispered my name and it sort of clicked, I was me again.” James brought her to his side and she accepted the contact for a moment. Needing to calm her nerves as the heat in the room rose. 

She could feel Remy across the room, fire calling to fire. A push and pull until she was calmed and Remy’s fire no longer pushed at hers to be still. He was helping her without anyone else seeing it. She blinked at him, gratitude plain on her face.

“Moy volk, ya ub'yu yego...” (my wolf, I will kill him). Natasha got up and stood in front of the blonde. Seeing so much pain in her blue eyes the red head almost cried anew. 

Mia smiled, a real one however small and reached out, let Natasha wrap her arms around herself and held on tight. Murmured Russian left Natasha’s lips so fast Mia could hardly keep up. 

“Nat, Natasha please.” Mia pulled back let Natasha collect herself. “He’s dead, I killed him. He can’t hurt me or anyone else anymore...” 

“Rumlow was on our tail the entire time,the moment we found safety...” James pulled Mia to his side again but she refused, shaking her head. Marie looked on and chose to turn her head away, tuck it to Logan’s chest, she’d witnessed this herself, she didn’t want to relive it. 

“I... fuck this is hard..” Mia wiped at her cheeks as tears started to fall and somehow she allowed Natasha to wrap her arms around her one more. “Nat... I was... I was pregnant Nat.” 

“Oh fuck.” Clint mumbled and Natasha clung so hard to Mia it would bruise any other person. No one missed the word she used. Was... past tense.

Mia took one of Natasha’s hands and held it, pulled until her shirt was ridden up and Natasha could feel the puckered scars of multiple bullet wounds. Right overtop Mia’s lower stomach, her uterus and womb. “Oh my baby... “ Natasha was sobbing holding onto the blonde and Mia found herself falling. The both of them tangled on the wood floors as Natasha sobbed and Mia tried in vain to hold back tears behind glowing eyes. Her icy demeanor shattered for a moment .

Steve was slacked jawed, finding a wall to slump down as emotions ran rampant through him. The pain on Bucky’s face was realized now, it hadn’t been the torture or the training or even the trauma of the programming. Mia had been pregnant, with Bucky’s.... Steve covered his mouth and refused to retch. The sheer amount of PAIN too much for him to express. 

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.” Natasha couldn’t stop her mantra, rocking slowly back and forth as she wailed and clung to Mia like she should have at the farm. Should have never left her, never left her. 

Mia couldn’t take the emotions rolling through her and had to, regrettably, rip herself from Natasha’s hold and out the door. As everyone else stumbled to follow her, James held back Natasha with a firm hand on her shoulder. “Give her a minute.” 

And Natasha alongside Clint, watched as Mia ran as far as she could towards the tree line and let go. Remy was right by her side, an orb of deep red surrounded Mia as plum colored tendrils snapped out against the barrier Remy was holding. It was over in moments and Mia dropped to her knees gasping, Remy knelt by her side to coach her back to even breaths. 

Confusion tinged with fear gripped the red head and she looked to James for an explanation. But instead of coming from him, the petite woman with a white stripe in her hair came forward.

“We found em’ right before Rumlow. There wasn’t time to explain to her, to let her see what was happening to her. The gene, it reveals itself when death is at yah door, and it came to her. She nearly blew off a part a the school when it finally manifested.” Mia was now nodding to something Remy was telling her and the glow from her eyes was diminishing. 

“She.... she’s enhanced?” Clint asked and pulled Natasha upright from her position of leaning on the railing. 

“Maybe with the serum, man made stuff makes em enhanced. But she already had the gene, locked deep inside.” Logan spoke, dark timbered voice shuddering. “I’m guessin’ if that asswipe had never shot at her? Killed her baby? She never would have manifested so strongly. Maybe not at all.”

“She’s a mutant. Like her big bro.” Wade’s voice had lost its sarcasm and he hopped off the porch to meet Mia and Remy halfway back. His fingertips holding her chin and she nods, she’s okay now. 

“I’m gettin too old for this shit.” Suddenly Clint sits down on the porch and sighs, a soft chuckle from his lips as he rubs at his face and cheeks. 

“I hope not, we got one more thing to do.” Mia had come back up to them, the scent of sulfur warding lightly from the burned out trees and oddly from her as well. 

There was still a glow to her eyes, a moving line about the iris of deep purple. The once blue of her eyes completely blacked out for the moment and Clint suppressed a shudder at her gaze. It wasn’t directed at him he knew that, but the anger, the pure rage behind those eyes had him wanting to run in the opposite direction. 

Steve glanced at Bucky and saw for a moment the winter soldier mixed with his best friend, a look of determination on his profile. “What’s the plan?”

James reached out and with a metal palm took Mia’s glowing hand in his fingertips. The power under her skin skimming over the plates like a moths kiss, not harming, delicate. Remy’s brow furrowed, watched as the power paid no mind to James. She was learning control yet it took himself two decades to do that.

“One more mission.” James murmured into Mia’s shoulder as his other arm wrapped around her middle to pull her back against his chest. Her power floating over him in warm tendrils before vanishing and reappearing somewhere else on their forms. It lasted several more moments before a soft whisper to her neck had Mia sighing and the tension in her shoulders relaxed so the power fled her body once more. 

“Take them out. The entire thing. I won’t stop until every last agent, commander, file and machine is wiped from the planet.” 

“Mia, sis. It’s Hydra, HYDRA!! You really think we can just fucking take out a near hundred year old organization from the fucking face of the earth?” Wade raised an eyebrow beneath red and black suit. 

“Why not? Wade... we can’t die. James probably won’t for another hundred years give or take more? Our shot at happiness? At normality? Is gone.” The blue hasn’t quite returned to her gaze and Clint noticed just like Natasha did. “We never had it, we never had a chance. So why not kill em all for ever doing this to us, to countless others.” 

Wade sighs, hands on the back of his neck as he groans and then crosses his arms. He agreed, with every fiber of his being. But he had Vanessa, he had that shot. And Mia, she had a shot too, she just couldn’t see it, refused to. 

“And what happens when we do it?” Sam spoke for the first time all evening. Watching this story unfold had him realizing he was only indeed human in this mass of people that shouldn’t exist. But he wouldn’t wimp out now, he didn’t have anything to go back to. “When we finish this?”

Mia shrugs. “I don’t know, but it’ll be over.”   
She was hiding something, though with her icy exterior back in place no one could tell. Just the ones who had been present when Loki spoke to the couple. Even they didn’t know the whole truth of what transpired in that golden room. She and James had promised to assist the Demi God, they’d keep that promise and let everyone else go back, be normal. To live. 

Wade knew, at least he had an inkling, of what was going to happen when it all went down. He’s lose his sister, again. She had that look in her eyes. A look that meant all she’d ever know now was the violence trained into her, her heart empty but for vengeance and the man at her hip, whispering into her neck. Metal gleam taking a faint lavender glow. She’d be gone like a whisper of smoke, off to fight another war, another battle, another fight because that’s all these two knew. It’s what they thrived off of now. 

“Where do we start?” There were no voices to speak back, to say no. They were all in agreement, even if they didn’t survive. Even if some of them wouldn’t come back from this war. Only Steve, asking instead of ordering. He could see it, he was no longer the one in charge, the one to give orders. Looking at James now, he was the headman. James at the point, War. Gathering his horsemen for a raging battle.


	46. Chapter 46

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I’m not sure where the inspiration came from but here it is

46

“You said something last night, been bothering me.” Clint was holding a cup of coffee, Mia by his side as they sat on hay bales in the small barn and watched Leo munch on his breakfast of oats and feed.

“Which part? My forced abortion by multiple gunshots or the fact I have power over pure energy?” Clint winced at her nonchalance and took a small shaking breath at the tone of her voice. 

“You said you can’t die.” Clint stared at the horse before him and wouldn’t look at his cousin. 

“Oh, that.” She stands and reaches out to pet the animal. “I can’t.” 

“How is that....”

“Possible?” She shrugs and faces Clint with her deep blue eyes. “No fucking clue.” She moves a hand to her belt, finger unholster the gun at his thigh and before Clint can blink she’s pointed the barrel under her chin, and pulls the trigger. 

Clint’s screams bring as many to the barn as it can hold, holding the limp body of Mia in his arms, her jaw mangled and blood spatter everywhere. Over the chaos and yelling of everyone there, Wade and James part Mia from Clint’s arms and tell everyone to quiet down. 

“She’s fucking dead!!” Clint’s still screaming and finally James slaps the man across the face. The smack quieting everyone else.

“Just watch Barton.” Wade’s holding his sister up against him, turning her broken jaw toward everyone. 

Within moments the bones are regrowing, teeth sliding into place as skin and muscle thread back together. Another moment and Wade is tapping her cheek lightly as she wakes up. In the span of four minutes, Mia shot herself through the brain and jaw and is now standing there, unharmed and on her own two feet. A hand rubbing at her chin. 

The silence rang out and she rolled her eyes. This wasn’t the first time she’d done this in the past weeks. While staying with her brother she’d wondered if she had his advanced healing, so she’d taken a bullet to the brain by her own hand. It had shocked James as he’d watched her skull grow back and brain reform, and her waking up minutes later absolutely fine other than a headache for an hour. She really couldn’t die. 

Mia stood on her own, Wade gently patting her hair back from her face and then palming her cheek affectionately. As if the drying blood and bone matter now stuck to her flesh was nothing, like she’d simply blinked. Nothing was strange about it to them. She moved, leaning her hip against the stall door where Leo popped his huge head out and nuzzles her cheek and hair. 

“I can’t die, neither can Wade.” She gestures to her brother and watches as everyone shifted uncomfortably except the few she brought with her here. Remy, Rogue, Logan and James. They’d witnessed her over the past months, seeing how many different times she could come back and how quickly. 

“How is that....even possible?” Steve asks, his voice low and whisper like, terror seeping into it. 

“Advanced healing regeneration, can even grow limbs back in about eight hours.” Wade shrugged and sat down on a hay bale, scratching at the back of his full head mask. He chuckles. “Even had my head cut off my wolvie once, course that was a different timeline. The movie was just awful, sooooo glad they decided to get Reynolds back and make a new movie.” 

Clint shook his head and wiped at his face with his hands. “Jesus Christ....” he waved to Mia. “Dont.... don’t fucking do that...” he’d imagined her death countless times in his mind. Nightmares plagued him relentlessly of her dying, bleeding out, throat slit. Everything under the sun. The realization none of it would stick, was a sick comfort to the archer. 

“Okay, back to breakfast.” Logan said loudly, shaking the others from their trance. Sam blinking rapidly before turning out of the barn, Steve, Logan and the others left. Leaving Wade, Mia, James, Clint and Tony in the barn. 

Mia watched the man as Tony Stark, she’d never met him in person herself. He looked like he was finally aging though, crows feet by his eyes and grey peppering his dark hair. He looked tired, they all did. Her gaze met his and he didn’t back from it but he did waver after a moment, his hands adjusting his coat like it was askew, it wasn’t. 

“I’d like to look at your weapons if that’s alright, see if they can be improved.” James shrugged as an answer, his history with the billionaire not on the best of terms while Mia glanced at Leo. 

“The wrist bows, the right ones delayed a fraction, goes to the right a bit.” Tony nods in answer, the icy tone of her voice giving him chills. 

“Barnes, I got something for you.” James sits up, raising an eyebrow at Tony as the man walked to the stacks of hay and reached behind them. The large disc in his hands made James’ eyes widen a fraction. 

“T’Challa says it’s heavier than Caps was, got a tracker built into it in case it’s ever lost, and! Custom paint job.” The shield was a deep charcoal, gunpowder color. A red star in the center of it and James reached out to take to from Tony’s hands. 

James tested the weight, tapped the side to hear no noise from it, a raised eyebrow at Tony. “Perfectly sound resistant, for you know, stealth and shit.” Tony said as James slid his arm into the straps inside, testing how it felt on his limb. 

“Why?” And Tony really didn’t have an answer. He felt mildly responsible for what had happened, maybe he should have upped the security at the farm. Maybe he should have flown faster, a hundred other things. Steve had asked to make the shields, but Tony didn’t want to fuck it up. So he’d asked T’Challa for assistance, gave his initial design and let the animated Shuri do the rest. It wasn’t much, but it was his apology. He can’t protect them all, but he can make sure their weapons work correctly. 

“Cap asked me to.” Tony turned and left the barn, muttering about hay allergies as he did. 

“Hit me metal man!” Wade jumps into the wide space of the barn and James has a little smirk on his lips. 

“If you insist...” and he wrenches back his arm the shield goes flying. Utterly silent even as it hits Wade full on the chest and sends the mutant flying into a thick wooden beam. The disc bounces of Wade, another beam and then back to James hand in a second. “Damn...” James admires the shield and slips his forearm back into the straps. 

Mia lets James enjoy the new weapon and makes her way over to Clint, sits beside him on the hay and leans forward some. “Clint. Stop blaming yourself.” James looks up and decides it’s a good time to leave them alone, Wade caught by the back of the neck as he’s dragged out of the barn to leave Mia and Clint alone. 

“I can’t. It’s all my fault.” Clint covered his face in his hands, feeling decades older than he was physically. Regret heavy on his form. 

“How? How is this any of your fault?” And for once, her voice didn’t sound so cold. There was hardly a chill to it as she spoke. “Clint, I never once blamed you. Not when I had a dozen needles in my flesh pushing the serum into my bloodstream. Not when I was training for twenty hours a day for months. Not when they handed me a bow and I shot down every moving target they had run from me.” Clint visibly shuddered at the image conjured in his mind. 

“I didn’t blame you or Natasha or James when Rumlow decided I was his next woman to assault. Clint I never blamed you,” her hand reached out and Clint gasped, tears in his eyes as he bolted up from Mia’s gentle touch at his shoulder, “I didn’t blame you when I lost my baby. This was not your fault, it never was.” 

Her touch was gone and she stood to pat Leo’s muzzle before turning to leave. “Now stop blaming yourself and man the fuck up. Be angry, be anything but guilty Clint. I’m beyond saving now.” She walked from the barn, boots nearly silent as she traversed through the packed snow and back to the cabin. Clint sat on the hay for a long while, mulling over every word from Mia. But feeling guilty was part of who he was, it would be hard to let that go. 

She hadn’t made it halfway from the barn to the cabin when her feet stopped, a whisper sounded and she turned. Loki stood silently in the tree line and Mia made no move toward the cabin and instead walked to the woods close by. When she was hidden behind the first few rows of trees Loki turned and led her farther In. 

Side by side they walked for a moment. Until Loki spoke. “I fear.... I fear that I may need you sooner than anticipated Conquest.” Mia half paused in her steps before resuming her pace beside the Demi god, being called that name always sent a shiver down her spine. Never sure if it was pride or loathing. 

“Loki, What are we up against.” The god paused and finally stopped, the both of them surrounding by thick tree covered in snow, wind whipping their hair gently. 

“My father had another child, before Thor or I, she was banished. And now, now she is near free of her bonds. With my father’s last breath she will be on toward Asgard.”

“Is she powerful? Like you?” Loki scoffed. 

“She is named the goddess of death, entire wars were won by her hand alone. Asgard will fall, all the nine will fall after that and she will not stop.” Mia crossed her arms in thought. 

“I thought you wanted to rule earth at one point?” 

“I wanted the choice to rule, the offer to rule. Asgard, not this backwater planet that’s quickly killing its own life with greed and pollution.” He turned and Mia could see the anguish that fluttered in his gaze before it was gone. “I have fought with my brother too many times to count, I have envied him for millennia because he was always better then me. Now I see, in the wake before destruction of my home, that he wanted a sibling and I gave him an enemy instead.” 

The scene around them shifted, Mia watched as people walked around them dressed in gold and rich cloth. Buildings standing for centuries still tall and proud in the skyline. Nature woven throughout the streets and gardens. It took her breath before Loki snuffed our the image, covered it in ash and death. Corpses piled on streets and once tall structures were crumbling. The howl of a wolf rang out, shattering glass as screams of agony filled the air. 

“I have seen what she is capable of, and I fear if she gets past Asgard, all the nine realms and then everything else, will be consumed by death.” The image shattered and they were once again standing in the cold and snow in silence. 

“My mission is non negotiable Loki. I want HYDRA taken care of, done with. Destroyed from here and only a fading memory that will be forgotten.” The god nods. 

“I will help in your endeavor when I am able. But I have come to warn you, you may have to put it aside until the time is more suitable.” She goes to argue, lavender glow igniting in her gaze. “I know I sound horribly cliche and heroic, it sickens me, but I do think the fate of every planet is a bit higher on the list.” 

Mia was silent as she thought it over and he was right, entirely right. But her vengeful mind wasn’t happy to set back and let HYDRA have its run. Hurting people and killing innocents, using people like her and James for their backwards reasoning to cleanse the world. A deep sigh escapes her lisp. 

“Does Thor know? Have you gotten anyone on your side?” 

“My brother has no trust in me and it is of my own violation.” He turns to her, takes in the white light reflecting off the snow and trees makes her skin seem to glow, her hair whipping in tangled gold locks about her neck. “I am hoping that with your help, he will see reason and let me help him. Contrary to belief I do not wish to see my home destroyed.”

“Why my help, what is my word going to do when I’ve never met Thor.”

“Because he will see the power I see in you and the truth in your words. Thor is brash at times but he knows a warrior when he sees one.” 

Mia sighs out her nose and gives a solemn nod. She’d need to speak with everyone about the new development. Her plan, her and James plan, had been to take out HYDRA and then vanish into Loki’s world. Her thoughts are stopped as she hears the sound of hooves on the snow and she turns, but’s it’s not Leo she hears. 

He’s massive, twice the size of her own horse. A black so deep the light doesn’t even reflect off of him. But it’s the legs that’s drawing her attention, all eight of them as he trots through the snow and stops before her and the god. His nostrils flare and four eyes stare straight into her. 

“Sleipnir.” Loki greets the animal and pats the massive muzzle. Smirking as the blonde steps closer, arm outstretched to touch the black coat. Mesmerized by his sheer size and the power exuding from the beast. 

“You’re Leonidas is a descendant.” Loki walks around Mia and presses a hand to her lower back, urging her more toward the giant animal that’s shoulders are towering over her. 

Her head whips around at the words and a fraction of surprise gleams in her eyes. “I wondered when it could have transpired, since the last He was on earth was over a century ago.” 

Sleipnir’s head moved and leaned down, breathing in Mia’s hair and snuffling her cheek. “I assume your Leo was full grown when he found you?” Mia nodded, her fingers scratching at the giant jaw near her chest. Leo had been a wild stallion for sale at a livestock auction, she’d spent a pretty penny just to save him from the glue factory. 

“And you’ve had him a good many years as far as humans go.” 

“What are you saying Loki?” He grins and parts Sleipnir’s thick neck in affection. 

“Your animal is a direct descendant of Sleipnir, and has lived centuries. Waiting for someone to link to, you.” Loki gripped the beasts mane and pulled himself onto the giant horses back with ease. “Your dragon heart calls to those beasts that will follow it without question.”

“Do not treat him as a simple animal, he will come to your side whenever you call for him. He’s chosen you exactly like your soldier chose you. Remember that everything is entwined and you must respect what the fates have knitted together. I must return Conquest, think on what I’ve told you and be ready.” 

“Wait... Loki!” But He was gone, the many legs of Sleipnir plowed through through as if it was cotton clouds and his hooves were molten lava. A swish of green and gold and nothing was there anymore. 

Mia leaned against a thick tree and sighed, pinching the bridge he of her nose and tried to figure out when exactly everything started to sound more like a fairy tale and less like her life. She missed the days spent in the sun, swimming in the pond when it was hot. Working endless long nights in the garage with rock music playing as she worked on her Dart. Or the countless days riding through the hills without a damn care in the world. She’d taken everything given to her at that time and smiled with happiness even though she felt abandoned and lonely more than anything. Now she’d give almost anything to get it all back. Her home, her car, her rolling pastures. 

She wanted to drive for hours, windows down in blazing heat. A deserted highway and the heavy rumble of her car. She wanted Bucky to be smiling and helping her feed the small herd of cattle. 

Mia sank her back against the tree and held back a wracking sob, her hand raising to clamp over her mouth before she wailed out in grief. 

She wanted James to hold their baby, watch them gurgle and cry. Teach them to walk. She wanted a little girl with bright blue eyes and dark hair to ride her first pony, to learn how to lasso a calf. She wanted a little boy with a wide grin leaping off the dock and swimming in the pond. A girl learning to ride a bike, James gently pushing her down the graveled drive. Little boy holding his first daisy pellet rifle on Christmas morning. 

Lavender glow turned to deep mauve waves of heat and power as her emotions roiled beneath her skin. The tree bark beneath her other hand singed and smoked, her breath shuddering and violent for long moments. This time, when her emotions calmed and Mia suppressed every vision of what could have been, her eyes stayed a deep black. Barely any blue left in the iris leaving her gaze dark and demonic. 

By the time Mia makes it back to the cabin, an hour or more has passed and James is on the porch, waiting for her. His hand encases her chin and he knows, he always knows when she has a moment on the edge. His lips find hers and it isn’t sweet, it’s raw and pure, comforting in the way he pushes against her so hard the little pieces of her soul that had been falling out of place were pressed back inside her. When she’s breathless and flushed and her hands are sank into his hair, James whispers against her lips that he’s gonna so everything and anything to get her away from the pain.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are love
> 
> Comments are life


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